In the Midst

Life has been a whirlwind for me for the last few months. I have been working on getting my next book of poetry, “Symphonies”, ready to publish.

© Esperanza Habla

In the midst of my working on “Symphonies”, I have been taking classes online, in a variety of topics. The opportunity to learn something new has always appealed to me. It’s a great trait for a writer, and for a person that works in a library. It seems that we are always researching something.

The first online class I took was on the topic of Spanish Culture. I was pleased I passed the class with such a high score.

The next class I took was entitled, “How to Write a Short Story.” I took the course to see whether the story I am working on, currently titled “Samantha”, would work in the short story genre. I have come to the conclusion that the story would not work as a short story. I was ecstatic when I received my grade.

While my work of fiction would not fit in the short story genre, I am glad I took the course. I learned many valuable lessons in the class in writing techniques, and writing fiction as a genre. It is a different process by far, writing poetry and essays, and writing fiction. Writing poetry and essays comes easily to me. However, writing fiction has been difficult for me. It is using a different set of muscles, so to speak-muscles I have never used before. Yet, I feel that I am a better writer for having taken the class.

This week I signed up for a new online course, in Intercultural Communications. That is something that I pride myself on. 

I took Spanish in my high school classes, and then again in the university. Yet, I found that I needed to refresh my Spanish skills. I then began studying and teaching myself the Spanish language. That was seven years ago.

While I am not fluent in Spanish, I feel that I am conversationally fluent. When a Spanish speaking person comes into my library, I can help them find whatever resources they need. It is a wonderful feeling to provide this service to our Spanish speaking patrons. That being said, I am the only staff member that knows another language. More outreach is needed, in a variety of languages, across the country.

In looking at the last few months of my life, I liken it to a person performing a spinning plates act. The performer starts the act by placing one plate atop a small wooden spindle. They then brush the side of the plate with their finger, initiating the spin. They continue this process until they have a multitude of plates spinning atop wooden spindles. In the midst of my taking online classes, I worked on getting “Symphonies” ready for publication, and working more on the story I have begun to write. All of this was happening outside of work, in my free time. 

Yet, while it has been crazy and hectic, it has never felt out of control. In fact, it has been an exciting time for me creatively. You never know what you will experience, in the midst.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"-John Lennon

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