To Change Everything, Start Anywhere

Ten years ago on this day, I graduated college. For ten years, I have had the same goal: to have a career that makes me happy, and makes the world a better place. For ten years, I have been a graphic designer, a photographer, administrative manager, customer service associate, an activist, and secretly all this time: a librarian. Looking back on everything that has brought me to where I am today, I can see that my path was heading to the point I find myself at right now, all along.

When you arrive at your destination, how often do you really look back to see how you got there in the first place? I know full well how I got to now, and know that each and every experience has shaped me to become who I am today. It has not been easy and I have faced many challenges along the way, but my struggles have not broken me, have not made me bitter or hard.

When my college English professor once said (out of nowhere!), “Life knocks you down, then kicks you in the teeth!” she was dead serious. When I smiled at her from the front of the room, she called me out for thinking she was joking. Even fully understanding what she meant now…. I still stand by my smile, and my laughter. Here’s to being knocked down again, and again, and again, and getting back up every time.

This was me then.

Hopeful and determined to have a career that aligned with my heart.

First stop after college: graphic design intern at Move for Hunger, where I could put my design skills to work for a cause that I believed in.

YMCA belly dance family literally helped keep me sane while trying to find a full-time job, and while recovering from a relationship with a narcissist.

Cue a move to Lancaster County, PA for a temporary full-time graphic design gig at Ten Thousand Villages HQ. It was a dream job for me, but the key word was temporary. Fell in love with Lancaster, and learned to line dance. Especially loved The Seed in Lancaster City, where I first picked up a booklet called “To Change Everything, Start Anywhere.”

Moved back to New Jersey, and was a founding member of a grassroots animal rights organization. Learned that I felt very comfortable sharing information with people about things I cared about. Reached thousands of people with a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere at events across the state, and even shut down a local slaughterhouse which is now an assisted living center.

Spent two years selling unique goods (skateboards, sunglasses, vintage, jewelry, and art made by local people) on the boardwalk in Asbury Park. Met a lot of cool people who make things, and learned that I love customer service.

In my free time, continued to do activism for people, the environment, and animals in NJ, NY, PA, and DC. You could find me either behind a sign or behind a camera, or both if I could manage it!

Vegan Activism 2010 - Present

In Spring of 2010, I decided to become vegan. After accidentally eating some rice at my university’s dining hall that turned out to have chicken stock in it (finding this out when I went up for another helping!), I decided to take “stock” of what I was currently eating that was not vegan, and it wasn’t very much since I was already solidly vegetarian. There was still a learning curve. From the very beginning, I used my local library as a resource, checking out all of the vegan cookbooks to learn about and make new foods I could enjoy. Still going strong twelve years later, and have not once looked back.

Photos: Walk for Farm Animals in Central Park, NYC, 2011. Tabling with my organization at the Edison Mall, circa 2016. Student host for Carol J. Adams’ visit to my university in 2012. With Cory Booker on the boardwalk in Asbury Park at an environmental rally, 2016. The Official Animal Rights March NYC in 2016, 2017. Meeting a turkey at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, 2019. Cube of truth and Earthling Ed at a vegan activism summit in Philadelphia, 2018. Meeting piglets recently rescued from a hoarding situation at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, 2017.

A stack of children’s books, some of the probably hundreds I used to find secondhand to give to a local Little Free Library in front of Lunch Break in Red Bank. This was probably in 2016, a solid three years before I ever thought of becoming a librarian.

2018 - Moved to Philadelphia to work for a buy one, give one social enterprise. Fulfilled a dream to get paid to travel when we visited Haiti to celebrate a million bars of soap donated. I used library access to Mango Languages to learn some Haitian Creole before the trip, which helped me to speak to people like this young man in the photo. It was magic.

Lived in Philadelphia for four years before returning home to New Jersey. Saw the Eagles win the Super Bowl, Biden win the presidency, and logged countless miles walking around the city every weekend. Worked at an independent gift shop on my street while in online grad school, and interned with the Free Library of Philadelphia.

I would not be doing what I am doing today were it not for the experiences and lessons of the past ten years. I had no idea that my career journey would bring me out of the state - twice! I learned that even the best, most ethical job can be fraught with challenges. When the job I moved to Philly for ended, I searched and searched for a new job that I could get excited about. I have always looked for ways to not participate in systems of oppression, whether of people or animals, in my career choice. I realized that I was hinging my hopes on long-term success at the types of places that are mostly found in big city centers: nonprofits, foundations, social enterprises. Long-term, I wanted to be closer to my family in New Jersey, and truly, closer to the beach!

While I was searching for my current job, I had it in my mind that I’d like to live no more than 30 minutes from work, and no more than 15 minutes from the beach. Spoiler alert: it came true!

It was at the beach one evening in 2019 that I suddenly had a thought, “What would it be to work at a library?” It hit me: I could live and find work almost anywhere, have no ethical objections, and after some quick research learned that I could expect to make a lot more money than I had been making at independent retailers, nonprofits, and startups. I could have variety in my daily tasks, and could put my love of learning and customer service to good use. I took a leap, and quickly applied and started (within the month!) an online program recommended by my local librarians in Philly.

Today, I am using everything I learned earning my library science degree in my wonderful new role as a Teen Services Public Librarian. I get to write, design, provide reference services, manage the collection, create displays, plan fun creative programs, and work in the best, safest-feeling environment I have ever worked in. Where I am now, there is laughter, teamwork, and a commitment among us to serve each other and serve the public. The distance I’ve come to get here, and the growth and trials I have faced have made this arrival so much sweeter than if my path had been more direct. I now wake up early every day - I dance - and I’m excited to get to work.

I learned that life will indeed knock you down, but that if you keep following your heart and believing that your path is possible, you will eventually find yourself where you were always meant to be.

To change everything, start anywhere.

CrimethInc.