So there's been a little debate here at the AL in the comments section to the last post. If you're curious, you don't even have to go look at the last post, because I'll quote the relevant comments. After all, why should you have to click any more links than necessary. You don't have time for that. You're a busy and important person. That's why you're reading this blog.
One reader asked, "Why do many librarians who blog brag about their overall greatness, number of attended, etc.? Are there blogs written, for example, by pharmacists who self-promote or is this unique to librarianship? Care to psychoanalyze?"
Good question, to which another reader replied, "This was covered fairly recently; librarians tended to be the unpopular kids growing up and as adults the job becomes their 24/7 identity, hence the offense at any slight and the need to tell the whole blinking world that they are a LIBRARIAN. Yeah, whatever............."
Is this reader correct? Are all those self-promotional library bloggers compensating for being unpopular geeks as children? Is it sort of like all those novels and movies that seem to have spindly unpopular writers as romantic leads?
But then there's more. A third reader responded to the previous comment: "Maybe I am in the wrong field. I was neither popular nor unpopular in high school. I was a pretty good student, didn't drink much, and had a love interest. In fact, I was so middle-of-the road, it was kinda sad...sorta like Veronica Sawyer in Heathers.
Now as a librarian, I do actually have a difficult time socializing with many librarians I meet at conferences, etc. Who would have thought? I tended bar near a huge Big 10 campus and dealt with all kinds of crazy, drunk undergrads, stressed out med students, etc. For god's sake, I was in a stupid sorority!
Women present more of a challenge. I'm just not into the same things a lot of them are into and it is hard to find common ground besides being a librarian. Believe it or not, I've also found it difficult to gain entry into their clique."
This person suggested a survey, and I, always looking for blog fodder, thought it was a great idea. So my question is, were you one of the unpopular kids? And did this have any effect on you being a librarian? And does this explain the self-promoting library phenomenon at all? Does it help explain why so many librarians seem to immerse their identity in being a librarian?
I'll begin with my answer. In high school, befitting my status as a gadfly, I was on the very edge of the popular clique, mocking the pretensions of the most popular kids while still enjoying their parties. Before high school I don't remember the cliques being as powerful, and by college I was hanging out with all the other pseudo-intellectuals pretending I was living the life of a scholar, if by "life of a scholar" one means reading a lot of books, drinking a lot of coffee, indulging the occasional illegal substance, and talking about history and literature and life with a bunch of other people who didn't know any more than I did. Those were the days, which for me continued on for several years in grad school. Perhaps that's why I have such a stunted personality, but I'm not sure it has anything to do with me being a librarian.
About Me
- AL
- The Annoyed Librarian is possibly the most successful, respected, and desirable librarian of her generation. She has no other interest than to bring her wit and wisdom to the huddled librarian masses yearning to breathe free. The Annoyed Librarian is a free spirit and you are lucky to have her.
62 comments:
”I wouldn’t belong to a club that would have me as a member.” as Groucho Marx said and I think it applies in my case. I hate self-important people of any strip and some librarians are the worst offenders as can be seen through their self-aggrandizing campaigns live from the Web.
Concerning school: I was probably more than unpopular in school; I was supra-unpopular. The movie Welcome to the Dollhouse by Todd Solondz is a fair summary of my junior high school years. And high school was a blur for…um…many reasons. But that was a long time ago. Since then my life has taken so many turns and becoming a librarian was just one of many; high school had nothing to do with it. I really don’t know why I became a librarian. I think it may have been for the same reason I became a diesel mechanic and studied philosophy in college…
…it was there.
—Soren Faust
Not popular, not unpopular. I moved a lot, so I didn't have much of a chance to find a clique of my own through elementary and middle school, but by HS I was fairly entrenched in the theater geek world (I went to a theater magnet high school.)
I did like to be alone (as I still do) and I read a lot.
I was on the fringes of the unpopular group, one of those cross-overs who had pretentions toward the middle-of-the-road group, but never quite gelled either way. We moved, and then there was no connection anywhere. I do not spend time self-aggrandizing, I like to do the work, and try to keep up with the 'trends' (aka hysteria) when I can.
I freakin' hated middle school. Not because I was unpopular and pudgy, though I was, but because there were tonnes of instances where I knew more than the teachers. I've always been an astronomy nut, and I got into arguments with science teachers over thing like nebulae and black holes. The worst thing I ever did, according to them, was prove myself right over and over again.
High school was "meh." I enjoyed my time, but I was not popular. I preferred to do my own thing instead of what the in-crowd happened to be doing. I typically hung out with the people who would remain my "kind" until this very day: geeks, freaks, and nerds.
To be sure, there were incredibly intelligent people in the popular crowd, but they weren't nerds or geeks. They might know about computers, but they didn't build, programme, or run their own BBS. (Ahhh BBSing... Memories!) Besides, there's always been a difference between being a "smart kid" and being a nerd or a geek.
Yes AL, your personality is stunted. And shaking gin bruises the juniper molecules. Your charms are inestimable.
--Taupey
Not all librarians were unpopular - I was very popular in middle school, you should see the pictures of my going away party when I moved after eighth grade! I was one of those cross-overs in high school, who had friends in every group, from the goth kids to the cheerleaders. I was never bullied, and never felt like an outcast, and I think that is part of why I'm a librarian; why would I pick a job where I had to talk to people all day if I felt socially awkward? Unless I was a cataloger, which I'm not. Although, if I was that concerned with being "popular" as an adult, I probably also wouldn't have picked a profession that usually led to awkward questions like "oh, you're a librarian....... read any good books lately?" or the most positive comment I ever get: "my sister's niece's grandmother was a librarian."
I was horribly unpopular in high school, though since I was in a small town and therefore went to school with exactly the same people from age 6 to age 17, we Losers ended up forming our own social clique--which thoroughly rejected the popular kids--and I wasn't at the bottom of the pecking order there. We were the drama club/Odyssey of the Mind/gifted program/band geeks. One of us became a cheerleader, but we forgave her and let her continue to hang around with us anyway.
What none of us were prone to was hyperactive joining of civic-minded organizations. We considered ourselves way above that. (I work with teens now--teens who hang out in the library, for heaven's sake--who looked at a bunch of community service mad peers and said, "What dweebs." Kindred spirits.) This hasn't served me well in public library-land, where, as mentioned, everyone seems very eager to hold office and serve on committees and network with community organizations.
"my sister's niece's grandmother was a librarian." That's very funny.
I was in the middle group who got along ok with both the popular and the unpopular crowd (but would rather stick to my choir/band/theatre/newspaper crowd)
However - I do have to admit, that I've never made FRIENDS all that quickly - I was the type who got along with and was acquaintances with lots of people in high school but truly friends with very few...
I don't think it has anything to do with becoming a librarian (if anything the fact that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life auditionining and going from show to show would be the reason I became a librarian) but I do think that I make friends somewhat easier at library conferences and such than I do elsewhere...
I was never popular in the "Mean Girls" sense but I always had a small group of friends. High school was great. I was a theatre geek and did Academic Decathlon. College was not so great, for some reason. I was really lonely, didn't have a lot of friends. Maybe that's why I ended up going straight into my MLS...
I was unpopular but not super geeky. Librarians now regard me with suspicion because I don't care for fantasy fiction, graphic novels, second life, D+D, and the other fantasies in which they endulge.
I had my own group of friends. I too am curious about obnoxious self-promotion, and the amount of time that is spent in this way. I have a theory about educators - they need to be ego maniacs to do the work they do - maybe it is so with some librarians...
AL, you keep me smiling! This is a perfect way to expose the self-indulgent bloggers while getting others to be self-indulgent themselves. It highlights the stupidity and uselessness of their self-aggrandizing.
I was never comfortable in my own skin in high school. The best thing about those years was graduating.
College was a lot more interesting,(like the "Party Girl" movie) but I wanted to be a lawyer then. It wasn't until I fell backwards into a library assistant job that I found what I loved. So I compromised; I'm a law librarian.
And does this explain the self-promoting library phenomenon at all?
Hmmm...interesting topic. I know, there are some highly insecure librarians out there. In some cases, it could be classic overcompensation, but that seems trite, doesn't it?
Also, I think the internet provides another forum for those who may have narcissistic personality disorder. Blogging lends itself really nicely as a pastime for NPD's. Due to the very nature of this disorder, NPD's have no idea that in reality they could be unappealing either physically and/or emotionally. They are also incapable of accurately assessing their intellect and limitations. I know a few people with NPD, who are obsessed with blogging about themselves as well as the minutia of their Facebook page. My predecessor at my FPOW, was a narcissist in the worst way. She was convinced of her overall greatness; so much, that in fact, she failed to see she was morbidly obese, and consequently, in very poor health. She also did a lousy job and left a huge mess for me to clean up. Why would librarians be immune to NPD?
I wonder if these blogs are attempts to craft a persona that isn't very authentic. The "I love my job and librarianship and technology and my coworkers, etc." seems so hyperbolic and just fake. How come their cheering section commentators are duped?
I think it's high time a librarian or a group of librarians blog about practical work situations, solutions, etc. Yeah, it may come off like a "we dun it good" blog, but we could all probably glean some decent advice. Strip away the cheerleading and focus on the practical.
I was quite popular, as in universally well-liked, but I didn't hang out with the cool crowd. I found them shallow. I moved my Senior year of high school, and that was so much fun for me--a clean slate with everyone.
I'm a librarian because I enjoy the type of work. I know; it's boring. But I like it.
I was on the fringes. I was also a super apathetic student. I really didn't care about the social cliques. I had my friends and I participated in activities just to get to college. Yeah, jr. high and high school had nothing to do with me becoming a librarian. But the funny thing was in grad school, it was jr. high & high school all over again. I could not believe how seriously people took themselves.
I was well liked---self conscious in high school. I did worry about what it took to be popular. I remember putting a lot of effort into making sure I had the right clothes. I never had a serious relationship until I got married. In any case, it doesn't have anything to do with why I am a Librarian. There were about five other career paths I could have chosen--and I continue to wonder what life would have been like if I had chosen differently.
I am, have been, and always will be unpopular with all manner of creation; man, beast, and mineral. Even my momma say I ugly. Nonetheless I have somehow refrained from daily apotrophes on my own greatness. Perhaps my lack of hubris will ironically be my fatal flaw. Part of it is that I see twopointopia as a big snore. Part of it is that librarianship is a means to a paycheck. Anybody who thinks that being a librarin makes them some sort of saint/rock star needs ye olde proverbial check up from the neck up.
I got great grades and graduated early, but I'm not smart in the self-motivated sense. I'm even a pretty slow reader compared to all the other librarians.
As far as high school popularity goes, I hated the 'popular' and instead tried as hard as I could to be punk, alternateen and trve. I don't think I succeeded. Lots of piercings, a tattoo and several hair colors later, I realize I was just as much of a loser as I would have been if I had tried to be All American popular.
Too bad I feel for the hip librarian stereotype; I still don't have enough indie cred.
I was definitely not in the popular crowd in high school, but I also never really saw the existence of a cartoonishly stereotypical jocks versus nerds environment. I got got along fine with jocks and nerds, but definitely didn't hang out with the super-popular kids much.
In college I was right in the middle of the popular crowd with some nerd cross over. Because we were a division 3 school, even the jocks didn't get much exceptional popularity.
I was horribly unpopular in middle school, sort of unpopular in high school, and popular in college. Though I really don't feel that this really contributed to me becoming a librarian.
Really, I had been working as a restaurant manager and and decided that wasn't the career for me. I had always enjoyed the service aspect of things, and librarianship seemed a much better venue to practice this in as opposed to the restaurant.
Eric
this is the most useless discussion I have ever seen. And the fact that I just spent 5 minutes of my time reading it, it must signal that I am probably in as bad shape as many other librarians out there.
But I really like what one of you said: "think it's high time a librarian or a group of librarians blog about practical work situations, solutions, etc." I still have to see anybody still collaborating and really bringing the profession up in the in the blogsphere.
Also, when I first found out about this blog, I thought the annoyed librarian was very interesting. Now I think he/she is obsessed with librarian stereotypes given the number of posts related to the topic. I think stereotype discussions should be banned from the profession...
As the person who made the comment yesterday that started this survey, I don't know whether to be flattered or amused, maybe both.
Unfortunately my school years are too emotionally painful to reflect on, let's just say I couldn't think of a good reason to go to my 20th reunion last year.
I can also say your survey is already going to be biased by people who:
A. Can respond in any meaningful way
B. See themselves as they really were growing up--but then who does?
C. Are telling the truth, either real or imagined.
By the way, I'm actually a fabulously successful corporate librarian with a PhD and three patents to my name, and was always popular at my Ivy League school......
I grew up in a small town. So in the sense that I knew nothing about farming, cars, or meth, I was technically unpopular. That being said, I had fun with the friends I had. I was too smart and cynical for location.
I worked in a library in college so I could do homework. I went to library school because my majors in college don't lead to employment. I never bring my work home. So, this makes me happy.
In high school, I was not very popular. I hung out with those in the same situation, and together we formed the library gang 'cuz we'd hang out in the library and cause trouble for the only librarian on duty. No major mischief, just talking out loud or making armpit fart noises.
In college and university, I delved into books and made fewer friends than in high school. I loved the library because I could disappear in the stacks and inside the books, read and research to my heart's content.
Still, that was not the impetus for me to enroll in a MLS program. In fact, after completing my university studies, and faced with unemployment, I had no idea what I should do. Librarian was never even on my radar.
But alas a career counselor suggested "Librarian." I winced. Librarian? No, thanks, sir. I like libraries, but to work in one...
He said the image of librarians was changing. A library degree can open doors to anything, actually. I was sold.
And thus began the hoax that has been plaguing me many years. After a miserable MLS experience, I stumbled along from job to job.
Open doors? Nope. I think I'll have to do a certificate program or start down a new career path.
I don't mind those self-absorbed, shameless promoter librarians appearing on the web. They found their career paradise. I'm still looking.
Like that U2 song: "I still haven't found what I'm looking for."
It seems sad to see people discussing how popular they were among a group of teenagers- I have seen these people in more than 15 years and really could not care less.
What relevance this has to being a "librarian" is beyond me.
Would not I was say popular or unpopular in HS but I had a lot of fun. Hung with a little clique that straddled the areas of theater and music. Never was that brilliant on stage in band. Was in Honors/AP history and took latin (director of the spring musical was the Latin teacher)wound up majoring in Classical Civ and Archaeology in college and the first masters in grad school. Even through most of college. I worked in the library the whole time the last thing I expected to be was a librarian. That is till I realized that a the only jobs I would ever get with my degrees would involve working in a library as I know snippets of crap concerning most everything. So I better got that degree and actually get paid slightly more than slave wages for what was already was doing as a library assistant.
For sure some librarians are the worst offenders and I have as much problems interacting with some those self-important wack jobs who always seem to be presenting at conferences and publishing papers on how thier users interact with the OPAC much less those on the happy-horse hocky express to "Information Literacy"
*gets on couch for psychoanalysis*
This reminds me of the time in high school when I had a few sessions with a somewhat stereotypical (male, gray in his beard, office in dark wood with lots of books behind large desk) psychiatrist to examine my fear of public speaking. As a teenager, I thought his question "Do you have any friends?" was just stupid. The fact that I did have friends seemed to me to have nothing to do with my fear of speaking in front of groups.
Regardless, once again, I thank you for making me laugh. I hope that people continue to appreciate your sense of humor and that others continue to take you seriously.
RCN, San Francisco Bay Area
Note how popular this thread has become. Anyone out there remember a British series of movies that followed some students growing up? They filmed them every seven years and were titled 7 Plus 7, 21-up, 28-up, 35-up, and so on.
The premise was "show me the boy at seven - and I will show you the man", Okay put it non-gender terms if you want, you get the point. It makes very interesting viewing about how some people change (or not) when growing up.
I can put my view on this poetically; the black hearted legions of Regressive Librarians, Professional Meeting Goers, and Infantes Terribles would never even read the AL blog, much less post some difficult past memory, they're too busy affirming their identity to face what costs them, save from never being really happy.
It's only when you look at the aspects of yourself you don't want to see that you really understand things.
Forget about librarians' childhood social lives; it's not about them, it's the blogging!
The disease of all bloggers is that they are by definition attention whores. Compare blogging to posting on a BBS or listserv, or running a webpage. Unlike those, you can blog only if you truly believe that you and your thoughts really matter.
And only certain types of people think that way.
I was a goth. I see no correlation whatsoever.
Anon 1:31 said
"It seems sad to see people discussing how popular they were among a group of teenagers- I have seen these people in more than 15 years and really could not care less."
I don't think it's so much about how you interact with these particular people, but about what your common interaction style is. That's about the age when we're developing the way we deal with other people who aren't related to you, and react to them. Is there some pattern that's common to librarianship, blogging, or a combination thereof? Is the enthusiastic library blogger the sort of person who wanted acceptance and scrambled for approval? Or are they people who always got patted on the back for every aspect of their lives, and therefore create a forum where the pats can keep right on coming?
It's just a weird little question. Kind of fun.
Neither popular nor unpopular--painfully shy (not so any longer, but introverted--that's just me)--kind of geeky, but not in a bad way that you'd make fun of. My musical talents and academic success saved me and kept me somewhat popular among my closer friends who knew how to deal with my shyness. But I do regret not nipping the shyness thing in the bud early--I missed out on a lot. It just became a bad habit sometime in high school I think. Anywho . . . I actually meet a lot of librarians who say they were not unpopular in high school and do have a life outside of library work. The exception is unmarried directors--who seem to have made this job a career in the sense that it consumes them (I'm not bad-mouthing anyone--just an observation). I think that happens in a lot of professions though, not just to librarians.
I was middle of the road in high school and I always a had a boyfriend.
I became a librarian because I didn't want to use my teaching degree, I always loved books and I always loved the library. I became a YA librarian because teenagers crack me up, even though a majority can be annoying and I love me some YA lit.
I'm not super intellectual, I can't get into graphic novels and I don't have a Second Life. I do find socializing with some librarians is like pulling teeth and many do take their job too seriously. I think that is because many librarians, especially public librarians, feel like they have justify their existence to get funding, respect, etc. It makes them feel better to make it out as if they are a part of some exclusive club.
That's just my opinion.
"So my question is, were you one of the unpopular kids? And did this have any effect on you being a librarian? And does this explain the self-promoting library phenomenon at all? Does it help explain why so many librarians seem to immerse their identity in being a librarian?"
I could see how some of the classic personality traits that lead kids to being unpopular are some of the same traits that lead to becoming librarians. Rather than direct causality.
I wonder how much of the total identity immersion is based on when you become a librarian. It is one of those fields that's treated as not just a job or even a career but as a calling. But I was 35 before I got my MLS (ie, last year) and I've been feeling increasingly guilty about how little is sticking. When I get home, I don't read the journals and the catalogs or even many of the blogs. I already had a well-established non-library personal life and I'm keeping it. But if you jumped in straight out of undergrad.... It's more of your life and thus more of your identity.
And I think the blog self-marketing is pretty harmless. Probably part of it is writing with future employers (and publishers) in mind. Which does sometimes lead to exaggerated enthusiasm. It's like an unending audition.
I was doing okay with socialization and getting a career in a normal field until I discovered Acid and Interdisciplinary Studies at the same time. After that, the only safe place was in the library. When they invented the Internet, I decided to stay.
I am so tired of the 'self-important bloggers' bashing. I have a blog, and I work in a huge library system. It has been tremendously valuable in sharing opinions and knowledge on different topics. It is another vehicle for communicating with my co-workers. It allows me to regularly connect with my administrators, who I rarely see. I know from looking at my Google analytics stats that my blog has almost 100% local readership. That's why I created it.
There are some of us out there who want to effect change in our libraries, and a blog is a good way to do it.
(and, fwiw, I was popular in high school, among my theatre geek friends. They were the only people whose opinion mattered to me.)
I'm so tired of those who are tired of self-important blogger bashing.
I don't know that there's a correlation, although I'm from a different generation than most of the respondents seem to be. I liked the teachers and the learning, but the social climate of high school (and junior high, and grade school...) was beyond me. I've always been eager to please, but not sure how, and that probably does have something to do with why I'm a librarian. I like helping people, I like learning, and being a librarian gives me a way to do both. Interesting discussion - thanks.
I am so tired of the 'self-important bloggers' bashing.
Anon 3:36
I think you are missing the point. Too many library blogs are content poor--meaning they are mostly about shameless self-promotion. Did anyone specifically indict yours? If you are so confident about the utility of yours, then why are you so defensive?
I'm so tired of those who are tired of self-important blogger bashing. This made me laugh out loud at the reference desk, thanks!
Wow - I'd forgotten how convenient blogging made it for everyone to tell the world all the little, insignificant details of their lives that nobody ever cared about.
I was a painfully shy geek (D&D, comics books, library user, etc.) in school, but involved in enough activities (sports, vocal music, art, etc.) that I had contact with and acceptance from many. Definitely not popular, but not terribly picked on either. Just quiet and kind of lonely.
I fell into the library by happenstance, but have found it a good fit because I am bookish and shy but also find relationships and service important.
I use blogging mainly as a way to stay in touch with friends and update them on my life and thoughts. I never get too personal and use a psuedonym, but I can't deny there is a certain amount of self-absorption that goes along with it. I'm writing about myself, after all, and putting it out there for the world to notice. I have to admit to a little thrill each time someone cares enough to leave a comment. I think that goes back to my school experience more than my being a librarian does; I felt socially unnoticed for the most part growing up, so now it's gratifying to feel noticed. That said, I want to say that I don't consider myself a self-promoter. That's why I use a psuedonym and blog about anything and everything. I'm not trying to be an expert or fill a niche, just share myself with those who care to read. It probably only means anything if you know me.
I was a drama nerd in highschool, so I guess I was popular with the unpopular.
In college I was popular, but I went to a very unpopular college.
Now I'm popular --- with my cats. Just loving my life as a librarian.
I think this 'popular' idea is some sort of US centric thing.
I had *friends*, but I don't know if that equates to 'popular' here. I certainly wasn't 'cool' or whatever. I became a librarian late in life cos it's indoor work with no heavy lifting and you get to work with people and information.
So Bunny, is the fact that you're a young conservative librarian who is tired of the ALA, MLA, and your collegues one of those small insignficant things about yourself?
Yep, precisely. Don't you just love the irony?
Chapter One: I am born. . .
In high school, as in college, I was a partying, well-read, well-traveled individual who had a busy social life, and was not at a loss for boyfriends. I'm pretty confident and enjoy my career as a librarian (for the most part), but I do not enjoy socializing w/other librarians as I feel I simply do not fit in with them socially. I've come to feel that its best for me to keep my work & social worlds separate.
I was not unpopular, but still far from being voted class president :) I got along with pretty much anyone and never had a problem finding somewhere to sit in the minefield that is a high school cafeteria.
I HATED elementary school (k-6), high school (7-12 rural area, no middle school), undergraduate and graduate school.
If someone asks what I do I am very proud to say that I am a librarian, but I don't wear a sandwichboard sign or anything.
Okay, I just remembered that I do wear a lot of library-related t-shirts but I like them because they are funny, not for what they do or do not say about librarianship as a profession. I'm not proselytizing/recruiting like some sort of cult or branch of the armed services either.
I've met some people who were into a level of sociopolitical librarianship that made me distinctly uncomfortable, but they thought I was such a rube that we could ignore each other fairly easily.
Great post! You've brought up a great point and I've really enjoyed reading everyone's arguements.
While I wasn't very popular in junior high (having just moved), I was rather popular in high school. There were several cliques that I floated between, and one that I essentially co-led, not out of choice or anything, it just sort of happened. I make friends pretty easily; I'm not sure how it happens. I wouldn't call myself the typical librarian stereotype, but eh. I mean, sure, similar people or at least people who share some interests are going to gravitate towards similar jobs, but *shrug*. Does it really matter?
I was unpopular and often friendless as a child. This might have had some effect on my going into librarianship, but I sure as hell don't fly my LIBRARIAN flag at every opportunity. I got out of high school, went to college, became a more or less normal person. As a general rule, I hate colleagues who want to be all librarian, all the time. Don't just get a life, you dorks, get a fricking MEANINGFUL IDENTITY!
As a general rule, I hate colleagues who want to be all librarian, all the time. Don't just get a life, you dorks, get a fricking MEANINGFUL IDENTITY!
I heart you.
Anon 12:52, you and I are very much alike, except I didn't party much in high school.
Delogar, your blogging seems more sincere than others I've seen. Ditto for the Pragmatic Librarian.
Anon 3:36:
(and, fwiw, I was popular in high school, among my theatre geek friends. They were the only people whose opinion mattered to me.)
This statement, coupled with your comment about being tired of self-important blogger bashing made me chuckle. Perhaps I'm overly cynical, but high school is a cesspit of posturing and tender egos, and cliques matter somewhat. Everybody feels like an outcast and everybody wants to be a bit cooler.
Then again, when I was in high school I usually jumped from group to group or ate with teachers. I was a band geek who hated hanging out with other band geeks and preferred to hang out with the mods and punks 10 years older than me outside of school. I had friends in college too, and still have friends, though none of them are librarians. When people ask me what I do for a living, I'm a "libarian". Hopefully I'll get that second R when I graduate library school.
Popular...aparently. I actualy had a girl ask me on the last day of my HS life "why are you so popular?" she ment it in the how can I be like you way. I just didn't care; having spent part of my 4 years depressed and the rest just frankly not careing about all the dumb sh!t that went on around me.
I was pretty shy in high school, but I would not say unpopular, more that I was afraid to socialize. My friends were mainly fellow distance runners, and I spent more energy running in the hills or around the track than in socializing with other kids, to my subsequent regret. Most lunch periods I would spend in the library reading magazines.
Oh god. Anyone whose entire life is about being a librarian needs to seriously Get A New Life.
As for popular/unpopular goes, I was never in the In Crowd, but I didn't sit at the Losers Lunch either - I had friends, we hung out. It wasn't a big thing. I liked to read and loved to do research (hence my being pre-law), so I guess you could say that was the motivation for me to become a librarian. It wasn't about the many friends or lack thereof - that's tangental to what I do.
Vampire Librarian said...
I was a goth. I see no correlation whatsoever.
???????
You're a Vampire and working the night shift.........
I hung out with the popular crowd, the goths, the geeks, and the jocks. I went out, and I was in advanced classes. In college I dated a lot, went to parties, and did well in school. When I go to ALA people ask me if I'm a vendor because I wear a suit. My friends tend not to be librarians because times I've tried to befriend colleagues I've noticed a distinct lack of social skills--basic conversation, lack of friends, etc. Plus I don't get the floral drop-waist dress look.
Unpopular as a child? Does chasing the boys until I caught them, then knocking them down to kiss them count as being unpopular? Those poor boys thought so. I'm still not liked. I was voted most likely to go postal at my job. (Maybe I should join the post office).
Teens who are popular can also be well-read, intelligent, responsible individuals who become librarians. I graduated from high school in 1974 and my yearbook indicates I was extremely popular. We actually voted for "Senior Superlatives" and "Homecoming Queens." I was (way back then) slim and cute, so that may be why I was well-liked, even though I preferred reading to sports!
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