In my 16 year career as a public children’s librarian, I have had the immense privilege to attend a handful of ALA and ALSC institute conferences. I consider myself an outgoing and confident person, but I still find traveling solo for a conference overwhelming. While these events are always informative, exciting, and rejuvenating, there always comes a time while socializing with my fellow librarians where a voice of doubt enters my mind. Do they really want to keep talking to me? Am I being annoying? A few years ago I stumbled upon a solution that allowed me to hang out with close friends and diminish my social anxiety during professional conferences.
Tag: friends
Exploring Chicago #alaac17
After my best attempts to make it to winding down sessions and an emptying exhibit hall– my friends and I decided to use our evening to see some Chicago sights! We made our way to the Up Comedy Club to see a Second City improv show! I love improv and the idea of seeing a show at the place where Tina Fey got her start was super exciting! Then we made our way to Pequods for some deep dish pizza! And this evening out reminded me why ALA is so invaluable to me–it’s a chance to reconnect with my grad school friends in a way that life wouldn’t allow me to do! As much as I love them, my vacation time is usually spent on family or leisure time– and since we all live across the nation from each other- this is our time to catch up! As we sat…