This Tucson woman provides what she found in the Pima County Library as a child, a place for passion-centered learning that gives voice to underserved populations.
Jana Bonfield Special to the Arizona Daily Star I grew up in Pima County with only swamp cooling to abate the heat. Our house regularly reached 90 degrees in July and August. We made it through by going to the library.
Being a librarian wasn’t my first dream. In middle school, I wanted to be a teacher. Middle school was a living nightmare where all my friends suddenly became enemies. I no longer had a teacher fostering an inclusive classroom environment. With all the class switching, I was on my own in a world turned sideways. I did best in classrooms where the learning was hands-on, and the teachers were passionate about the material and students. Passion-centered learning became my new safe space.
It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned this struggle to feel safe was anxiety. Everyone has it to some degree, and I needed tools to help me manage mine. Mindfulness meditation was a game-changer for me. Learning to sit in my own skin without judging myself took practice and continues to take practice. I also had to learn radical acceptance, or “it is what it is.” That means my only hope of changing anything is accepting that it needs to be changed right now.
My mom told me as a child to get comfortable at the library, and I did, thanks in no small part to the staff who always welcomed me. Staff that always cared what I was going through, no matter what. I wanted to do that. I wanted to help people of all ages talk about mental health so they would know they weren’t alone. The combination of the Synapse Team and being a young adult librarian is a dream come true.
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