List: advice.

I have been soliciting advice wherever I go these days.  Part of the mission of this blog is to help me determine if I should keep at my art or turn the corner to who knows where.  Here is some of what I've heard so far:

1. Stay the course!  (from my dear friend and mentor, Katherine)  She reminds me of the flexibility of working for myself, the demands of family life, the challenge of learning something brand new, and all of that mixed together.

2. Interview a librarian (from my sil, Carol)  I have a list going already of librarians to interview -- one at an art museum, another at a theater, a corporate librarian, and I'm guessing I could easily find someone at SPPL, where I am a regular patron.

3. "You just have to get over that." (from my former neighbor, Ann, whose children I used to babysit) My first job was elementary teacher -- such an obvious contribution to the community; when I turned to art, I struggled with the place for art in the world we live in (and still struggle).  I said to Ann yesterday, I wonder if I am just looking for the prestige/validation of an advanced degree, to which she replied, "You just have to get over that."  She also suggested looking into art therapy as a potential career.

4. This blog post.  I'm drawn to a creative life, but am I reading the map right?

Do you have any advice for me?  I'm all ears!

Comments

[Melissa Gruber]

I would agree with the others...you have a wonderful gift to share with others and you are the boss! No one else to tell you what time to get to the office or to take lunch or vacation. The list goes on, but I am sure it is hard being the boss too. I think follow your heart, not your head and do what feels right...even if it is a hard decision.
I hope that helps!
Melissa

[Kristan]

Gina,

You inspire me with this blog! You have the organizational skills and the creative talent to make it happen. I would miss you terribly if I did not get to be "a fly on the wall" in your brain. Not that your brain has any flies roaming around in it...

As for life occupation, I look at my life work choices not as a linear path, but as a vortex in which I continue to circle around, collecting more insight as I go. It is not always the most fulfilling in adult conversation to sound as if I am a whirling dervish with the choices I have made, but it definitely makes me who I am. And allows for the creative soul in me to flourish.

Advanced degrees add to the collection of insight along the way, but I currently possess two of them that are not being used in the traditional way others use them. Beware the, "If I go to school for this, then I will love doing that" mentality. It has not worked for me. They have definitely influenced my life in great ways, but is doesn't mean going back to school will make you a 100% satisfied librarian. Though your organizational skills would make you a rocking librarian....

I wish you luck as you look forward--

Kristan