Shari Della Penna
  • Home
  • About
    • My family
    • My work
    • My favorites
    • FAQ's
  • Contact
  • Blog

"Small acts of kindness can change and humanise our world."
   Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks 1948-2020
   ​Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, 1991-2020
                         Author, Advocate, Advisor

My Direction Home

3/6/2018

1 Comment

 
     Mrs. Reegs just smiles. . . . She always says I’m the only person she knows who can walk and read at the same time without ever bumping into anything. When I asked if this meant I was a weirdo, she said no. It meant that even when I wasn’t looking, I had something inside me that just knew the way to go.
                                      .  .  .
     So there is no choice for me but to go in. Having no idea what will come out.
                                                        from: The Way To Bea
                                                              written by Kat Yeh
                                              Little, Brown and Company, 2017
 
       It took me a long time to find my career. After several false-starts, I settled into librarianship, a perfect fit.
       But, first I had to find my way out of high school. I graduated with mediocrity. High school was not fun for me. It didn’t seem to prepare me for my future. Elementary school was way more fun. Maybe I could be a teacher and teach little kids.
       Like Mrs. Zimmerman, who still holds a warm place in my heart.
       But that was not in my stars.
       I loved words and writing. I wrote many bad short stories while I was in high school and college and much more bad and angsty poetry. Maybe English would be a good subject for me to teach. But, shortly into it, I realized that I got along much better with the characters in the novels I taught than I did with most of my students.
       So that was not to be either.
       Then I discovered that although librarians are among the smartest people in our society and among the most organized, and although I was really neither very much of those things, I found my way into and out of library school. I gained a greater appreciation for organization. I found ways to answer questions, both serious and quirky. Before Google. And I could spend my days with books and smart people. And lots of kids who loved books and stories. Ahhh! a wonderful home away from home.
       And here I am—still trying my hand at poetry. Still trying my hand at writing. Still collecting rejections. But, still curious, still seeking answers (with and without Google), still interested in the world.
       And a little more satisfied with letting things happen as they will. More satisfied with observing the world work the way it works.
       And still trying to make my little piece of the world a little kinder.
                                                                   --stay curious!
       
1 Comment
Lynda Boucher link
3/6/2018 10:05:17 am

That's quite a journey! Onward!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

         I'm a children's writer and poet intent on observing the world and nurturing those I find in my small space .

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly