While the semester doesn't begin until August 25, my first course, Online Learning, opens today. This is basically a quick course designed to get students familiar with learning, discussing and collaborating online and be familiar with the tools to do so. So I hopped online this morning to get oriented and see what I could start on! One of the first discussions I came across was titled "Introduce Yourself". Only the instructor and peer mentor for the course had posted so far, but in the half dozen paragraphs of the instructor's introduction, I learned that my dream job exists. Not directly exactly, but I learned that the instructor currently is a medical librarian, helping connect health professionals to the newly developing resources and information in the field. And I was intrigued. That is exactly what I want to do for mental health professionals and patients. If there is a position like that in the health field, then surely there is in the mental health field. And sure enough, in my online search, I found a site for the Association of Mental Health Librarians which I absolutely intend to join. This is just what I had been looking for, and it puts the pieces together for a clearer picture of what I am striving for.
Furthermore, my mind has been full of activity. Remember when I mentioned my brain felt dull and I was worried about getting into the swing of things? Well, I've been practicing using it much much more in the past two months, gobbling up news articles and opinion pieces, blog posts, and then having meaty, meaningful chat conversations about it all with my friend over Skype. It's like I just had a little slump in learning how to be analytical without being judgmental. I'm more than ready to dive into the material and participate in discussions, very eager in fact. I've got ideas, and I'm not afraid to share them!
