Something in the water? By: Matt Kirschner If you were to pick up a job application and read the following description, what exactly would you think about taking it? “No experience necessary…up to five hour shifts of manual labor per day… That is basically what I had heard from my peers when I applied to work as a page at South Brunswick Public Library two years ago. I was almost tempted to listen to the negative hype loaded onto me by my friends and peers, but I decided to follow my own path and take what once sounded like the most boring and tedious job in the world. And I have never looked back, loving every moment of it. It isn’t the hours of manual labor that I necessarily loved about it. In fact, that is probably the one thing I haven’t enjoyed about it. Lugging hundreds of huge reference books around for hours on end is undoubtedly not my idea of fun. Not being allowed to speak to my friends or listen to music has made the hours pass even more slowly than they used to, but something has stopped me from quitting this job. There were times when I thought, “You know, I don’t make too much money in this job. I could make more money as a cashier or a bus boy, and I can actually talk to people at those jobs. I guess I’ll just quit.” But I lasted two years at this job, speeding past every little negative thought I could have had about my current place of employment. There has always been one positive thing that has kept me working behind the same cart of books. Was it something in the water? Far from it. Was it something in the air? I hope not…maybe I should get a doctor to give me a check-up just in case. But there was one true thing that kept me smiling before, during, and after every day of work. It was the people. Every person that I came in contact with, from the many volunteers that quickly passed through the library system to the many pages I have worked with over the years have made me smile. The senior pages and the hard-working librarians to the main bosses that I have had many-a-chance to talk and work with help me to remain happy even in the toughest of times. Even the customers have been very pleasant to me throughout the years. These people have allowed me to become a more open person. I have learned through the teachings of and experiences with the many people who have passed through those doors how to become friends with people I had never even thought of speaking to before. This has not only allowed me to help my fellow co-workers and passing patrons, but I have brought these lessons and applied them to my personal life outside the library as well. My friends constantly comment on how open I am with them and how I am always able to work with them to solve any problem they may be having. What I have learned through working with co-workers and patrons at the library has strengthened my relationships outside of work. While my people skills have taken a huge jump through my personal relationships to help my present situation, my future has also been affected through what I have learned working individually. I have had hours on end to work as well as think alone while shelving books at South Brunswick Public Library. Working on my own has helped to prepare me for a future in journalism, as it forces me to work on my own and make use of the thoughts that simply pop into my mind. How many of my articles have come to mind while putting away books in the quietest sections of the library. I have produced and developed the majority of my articles while at work, and I attribute the majority of my success in writing to the calming time I have spent there. Working at South Brunswick Public Library has not only helped to shape my present and future, but my entire personality as well. I am a much happier person because of the contact I have made with my co-workers and customers. They never cease to put a smile on my face, a creative thought in my mind, or a helpful attitude in my heart. I owe so much to the library, I wish there was something that I could do to repay them. I can only hope that I have put as many smiles on their faces as they have helped to put on mine. I pray that they are as happy because of what I have added to their loves as I am because of them. Is it something in the water? No…just the smiles.