Where did you learn how to do that?
“Where did you learn to do that?” they asked.
“Taxes? Photography? Oh, I don’t know,” I laughed awkwardly. “It was just sort of interesting, so I read about it… and here I am.”
I know that sounds strange. But give me an internet connection and an interesting topic, and I’ll see you next week with my master’s degree.
Where did that kind of learning ethic come from?
I suppose it started when I was a military kid overseas—before the internet was a thing. My choices were: play outside or go to the library. I loved both. I played outside when I didn’t have time to waste, and I read when I needed to pass the time.
I thought back to 3rd grade…
598.47 – Dolphins
I zipped through my worksheets faster than any of my classmates and made direct eye contact with Mrs. Jensen. She nodded—one finger over her lips—and handed me a sticky note as I quietly exited to the library. The note read:
“DOLPHINS”
Mission accepted.
I flipped through the card catalog:
500 – Science
590 – Zoology
599 – Mammals
599.5 – Marine Mammals
599.53 – A-ha! Dolphins.
I could pick three—just three—return to my desk, and read quietly while everyone else finished up.
This was my routine. I was special. So smart. So incredibly brilliant, you see, that only I was allowed to do this.
It had NOTHING—absolutely nothing—to do with the one comment that showed up on every report card since kindergarten:
“Likes to talk.”
I’m sure of it. Positive.
Also me:
I’m going to be a marine biologist.
F Kee – Nancy Drew
36… 37… 38… 39… 40… 41… 42… 43… 44… 45.
I stacked the next ten Nancy Drew books on the circulation desk.
“That should last me until Saturday,” I thought.
“Well… at least through Wednesday.”
Sigh. Only ten. Why just ten? It’s not fair!
My fourth-grade self felt deeply wronged. Little did I know that author Carolyn Keene (aka Mildred Benson) would become my gateway drug to true crime, critical thinking, research, and eventually, an obsession with genealogy and ancestry.
(Ask me about the time I located my aunt’s biological family in under four hours. She had been searching for over thirty years. Sorry-not-sorry for that 1am random text Steve.)
Maybe I’ll be a private investigator.
001.944 – Loch Ness Monster
000 – Generalities / Computers / Information
001 – Knowledge (unexplained, mysteries)
001.9 – Controversial Knowledge
001.944 – There it is! Loch Ness Monster!
I was obsessed.
Bigfoot. UFOs. Haunted houses. The Loch Ness Monster.
Sixth-grade me adored Wednesday evenings at the library while my grandma volunteered there. I read every single book—yes, every single one—on Loch Ness I could find.
And I dreamed of bringing my camera to Scotland one day. Twenty-five years later… I did just that.
Maybe I’ll be an explorer.
An archaeologist?
A scientist?
746.43 – Crocheting
646.2 – Sewing
Maybe a designer?
372.21 – Early Childhood Education
A teacher?
770 – Photography
Definitely a photographer.
616.8 – Audiology & Hearing Disorders
Wait… what’s an audiologist?
305.23 – Children & Parenting
649.1 – Parenting Strategies
A mom.
336 – Public Finance
A tax preparer.
———-
So where did I learn to do that?
At the library. That’s where.
I read about it in a book.
I researched it in an article.
I saw it in a magazine. A newspaper.
I skimmed it in a waiting room, on my phone, iPad, or laptop.
I most certainly read the manual.
Yep, I’ve read the insert too. You know- that folded piece of paper stuffed in your prescription bag.
I read it in the car,
at the game,
at the bar,
and on a plane….
I can read it here or there. I can read it everywhere.
(ok, sorry, I think I borrowed that last line, Dr. Seuss.)
Anyway, where were we?— So little time, so many books!
Oh yes…
The truth is, I never could stop learning to do or BE just one thing—and let’s be real, I never will. But every step of the journey, the library was there. Waiting quietly with the next answer, the next adventure, the next question to ask.
And now, full circle, I get to be part of that world for someone else.
Maybe you’re still figuring out what you want to be when you grow up, or how to do that thing you want to do.
Same girl, me too.
But I’ve learned this much:
When in doubt—go to the library.
It won’t just change what you know.
It might change who you become.
— Katie Mennenga, Audiologist, Mom, Photographer, Writer, and now,
Library Director, Wellsburg Public Library
#plottwist