Resumés

I have been looking for a job, which means writing a resumé and lots of cover letters, and all the things you do when applying for jobs. Which means I've given a lot of thought to my professional accomplishments, because I'm trying to highlight them and show that I do have them (which can be tricky when you are looking for your first post-graduate job, if you know what I mean).

Looking for a job gives you a lot of time to think (and honestly, sometimes that's all there is for you to do. Job searching involves a lot of waiting). It is very easy to feel like you aren't really doing much in life when you don't have a job. But I have had many moments--many, many moments--over the last few months to realize that there is a different kind of resumé in life, and one that matters more than what I've achieved professionally.

When I think of the most important things I have done in my life, the things that mean the most, and have the most impact, and do the most to make the world better than it was, none of them are anything to do with archiving papers, or getting an order out on time, or stocking the shelves, or even helping a student understand what a word means. The most important things I have done in my life are things that would never go on a resumé for a job, or even be asked about in an interview. But they matter so much more.

They are things like taking a walk with my nephew, and playing with him, and teaching him things. Because all of that, hopefully, sends him the message that he is loved, that he is valued, and that he has worth. It is baking a cake for a friend who is feeling down, and just needs to know that she's not alone. It is laughing with my nieces at the ridiculous things that stars wear on the red carpet, or reading stories to my other niece, or telling my nephew what a great kid he is. The most important things I have done in my life have been telling people I know there is a God, and that He loves us, and in loving them myself.

I feel really good when I complete a project at work, because I know I've worked hard and done good work. And it feels good to finish things. And it is satisfying and rewarding, and it has value for me as a person. But the experiences that matter the most, that are critical, the accomplishments that I know really count, are the ones that I have by interacting with and loving and helping people. I sometimes feel like I shouldn't be spending time playing with my nephew, I should be working on job applications and finding new leads. But when I take the time for people, I am always blessed to KNOW that that was the choice that mattered most on my life resumé. It is those decisions that bring me the most joy, and those are the things that will be on my application to heaven, if you will.

I may never be rich. I will probably never be a famous anything (which is okay. I hate the limelight). No one is ever going to name me to the Archivist Hall of Fame. I hope to publish some of the stories I've written, but I doubt I will ever be famous for them. I'm no Tolkien or Rowling or Dickens. And I don't really want to be. But I do hope that I do some good for someone once in a while, and make the world a little better for having been here.