Take a Risk and Follow Through

by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina

Take a Risk and Follow Through

Diana.LaFeminaPutting yourself out there is never a comfortable thing. However, wonderful things can happen when you take the risk.

For example I’ve been searching for a volunteer position in New York City. You’d think this would be easy to find, but…not so much. Much of what I’ve found are positions that require current enrollment in an MLS program or a commitment to hours that conflict with my current work schedule (granted, most things conflict with a 50-hour work week). So, I decided to contact prominent rare book libraries and librarians, hoping to get a lead.

I was honestly only hoping for one of the six libraries to reply with a suggestion for a place to look or contact for volunteer work. Instead, every library answered back. Not only that, the people who answered my email were the heads (or very close to) of said libraries, all offering to meet or speak with me to give advice. I’ve already spoken to four and am in the process of putting their advice to action.

Which brings me to a very important factor: when you put yourself out there, you have to follow through. There’s little point in reaching out to someone and then never replying to their reply email, or getting advice and then not putting that advice to use. Yes, it will be work and things will get in the way. You’ll have too much work, get ill, have a family crisis, etc. However, it’s all about prioritizing, and if others are involved in your risk (as in mine), taking said people into consideration and reaching out to them to discuss the pros and cons.

I know the above seems rather obvious (most of what I write about does, I fear), but it still needs to be said. It’s so easy to tell someone to take a risk, but the common sense of following through on that risk should also be stressed because it’s a crucial step.