My mother, being a librarian, unrelentingly gave me vocational advice during my teenage years. Study Library Science in college, she admonished. I never appreciated it back then but, I obeyed.
Being a school
librarian was never my dream. I have always wanted to be a teacher or a writer.
As the saying goes, mothers know best. She probably had a vision of how
the profession would take shape in the future. What I did not expect was to
discover that a career in librarianship would lead me to the two things I love
– teaching and writing.
Teaching
has been my vehicle to reach children and young people. Connecting them to
books, literacy and language learning, as well as research instruction. My
interaction with them afforded me the joy to tell, share and write my own
stories for children. In time, I became a published author. I cannot imagine
myself doing anything else. I am grateful.
In
Philippine Librarianship, I consider Mrs. Lourdes David and Dr. Mary Orendain
as my mothers in the profession. I knew them at a time when I was desperately
looking for role models. They are both instrumental in shaping my belief on the
influence we hold in our learning community. We, librarians, can bridge gaps
and break barriers.
At this
point in my career, I strive to be as inspiring as they are and as persevering
and tenacious as my biological mother. We all need a mother, if not, a mentor
we can aspire to become.
