I chose to get a degree in English because of the stories. I like stories. With stories you can get patterns. With patterns you can avoid a lot of pitfalls.

It is kind of like learning to drive using a simulator. You are doing it on a computer rather than on the road. You can learn where the obstacles are and thus what to avoid.

Stories are the same way.

I have realized with working in the library I get the same thing. I see stories and patterns. I see the results of actions over the course of time. I see what happens when certain paths are followed. I see the dead ends and the potholes.

It is pretty amazing. I’ve stood in the same place for thirteen years and watched people change in front of me. I’ve seen the same person evolve, and families change. I’ve seen the same kind of person and the same behavior often enough to see a pattern. I’ve learned things just by noticing them.

It is kind of weird and kind of wonderful at the same time.

Sometimes the things I see are so amazing that I can’t make them up. Sometimes they are so bizarre that I wish I’d never experienced them. Sometimes I can’t tell the difference between what is amazing and what is bizarre anymore.

I’m an observer in the lives of others. Because I don’t see them every day I have a different sense of perspective. Because I see so many people I have a special overview.

These are stories, sure. Living stories. They are real, but they are also part of a pattern. We are all unique and yet we are all part of a whole. It is where I get a lot of my insights for my writing.

I remember not really liking the library so much. It was getting boring. I thought I could do more with my life. I thought that maybe I should try to find something else. Turns out part of it was just that I needed a different perspective and a different set of managers.

Things are a lot better now. I’m in the same place, but I’m not the same.

Sometimes the best thing you can do is just wait and see what happens. Things are bound to change if you wait long enough. Sometimes they are amazing. Sometimes they are bizarre. If you are lucky, they are both.