As some of you may know by now by piecing together from my social media or being within my closer circle of friends, I was laid of back in June. I have not posted publicly about it because I’ve been processing my many years of workplace trauma, grieving the loss of that job, and, well, figuring out what I want to do for the rest of my life, which is library science!
The non-profit org that I worked for was an incredible opportunity with many wonderful people, but alas, we live in a world where as beautiful as the mission can be, money talks, and AI is becoming more popular at replacing people within the workforce, so, I am no longer working at said non-profit. As short-sighted and upsetting as these decisions can be, all we can do is continue to fight against generative AI and forge our own paths to mitigate our role in this capitalistic hellscape. I have nothing but love and light in my heart for all the work I did, all the people I met, and the doors it has opened for me. As difficult as sudden life changes can be, I’ve only have a few bad days in the last couple months (imposter syndrome is a bitch!), and I have come to view my unemployment as a gift – a gift for time to rediscover myself and how to create meaning in my life. Don’t feel too bad for little old me, who is spending all her time reading, researching my passions, going to concerts, laying on the beach, taking walks through the garden state’s finest offerings, visiting friends & family, and ranking up in Marvel Rivals. I want to help people, build community, promote life-long learning, & preserve our arts & culture, and what better way to do so than going back to school for a career where I’ll be on the front lines of all of these issues that I’m so passionate about. Kicking generative AI in the teeth as someone personally burned by it? Added bonus.
Some of you may be thinking: ‘Haley, don’t you already have a master’s degree in English?’ Thank you so much for remembering! Yep, totally do. I think the biggest hurdle I’ve had to overcome in my life as being the eldest daughter was the weight of expectations that influenced my decisions of the past. I am so grateful for my education thus far; it has given me the means to communicate in writing, speak eloquently in front of colleagues in meetings, read incredible authors, and be politically informed. What my English degree didn’t give me was a vocation. I avoided a linear path such as this for a very long time because I was afraid of failing, and in doing so, I’ve gone down a lot of weird and funky avenues like working in administration and operations at a brewery, auction house, and non-profit women’s health clinic. None of these jobs are what I went to school for. All of this being said, I think all of these experiences were fundamental for me to finally take a leap of faith on myself and say: ‘You can do this!!! You can set yourself to attain a goal and achieve it. You deserve more than how people have treated you at those jobs!! You deserve a career!!’ That is what I plan on doing in library school.
So, what’s next? Job and internship hunting to get a foot in the door, attending events at my local library (there’s a bunch of fun ones!), attending this master’s program in the spring at Rutgers, and reading!! If you’re wondering what I’m reading now, it’s Crime and Punishment (all the drama in the world) and Project Hail Mary (necessary and wonderful sci-fi palette cleanser for the aforementioned). No matter where I’ve been at in my life, mental health, etc/what have you, connecting to other people through art & literature has always been my passion. I want to continue to do that and learn more about digital & analog archiving. I also think it would be super fun to work in a university library. I want to go into the program with an open mind. I would love to come back to this post in two years and think about how I cherished the privilege of free time, getting a fresh start, and doing something for myself. All of my friends and family have been so supportive of my vision. Feeling grateful, feeling loved, feeling excited!!
Thanks for taking this journey alongside me.
HV
Haleiga 
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