Dream jobs

By this stage, pretty much everyone knows that I underwent a little mid-20's crisis earlier this year and finally decided what I wanted to be when I grew up. But every once in a while I get an "OMGWTFBBQ when did you change jobs?!" email, so here's a quick rundown of The Story Behind Lisa's Career Choice.

When I was very little, I wanted to be either Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. Obviously, that didn't work out, which I solidly blame on being cursed with the wrong color of hair (aside from Belle, brunettes don't seem to be terribly popular among the Disney princesses).

Mom always told me I could grow up to be anything I wanted, and I guess I took her literally. BTW, if you've never seen them, check out the incredible Dream Portraits that Annie Leibovitz shot for Disney - they are truly extraordinary (click the images for larger views).

As I got older, my aspirations ran the gamut: ballerina, ice skater, horse trainer, chef, illustrator, cartoonist, and finally animator, which was the career I settled on for quite a few years. Midway through a degree in fine art, I started eyeing art conservation or museum curating, both notoriously tight fields that involve waiting until someone dies and then flinging their still-warm corpse from the desk while fighting off the other applicants with a battle axe. And yet although these jobs intrigued me, I wasn't really excited about them.

When we moved interstate, I decided to take the opportunity to reassess what I wanted in a career. And I kept coming back to one job. When I was in college, I worked in my university's library - and I adored it. I've had a lifelong love affair with libraries - the sheer wealth of knowledge, the anal retentive organization, the delicious smell of the books, the significant lack of corpse-flinging... So, I realized that what I really wanted to do was be a librarian. Interestingly, the most common response to that decision has been, "A librarian? Really? Huh. You know - I can see that." I don't know if they really think it suits me, or can just easily imagine me in a scanty twinset and heels.*

Also check out this Naughty Librarian costume. Make sure you zoom in so you get a good look at the skirt, because it rocks.

Like any other job - especially other public sector roles - there are good days and bad days, and the work is often tiring and occasionally injury prone, but it's also enjoyable and fulfilling. I've never doubted my decision for a second.

*I rather suspect this was the motive behind Ben's wholehearted support, since when I excitedly informed him that I wanted to change careers, his eyes began to gleam and the first words out of his mouth were, "Really? A SEXY librarian???"