Coronavirus, am I right? Last week Simmons University made the decision to extend spring break for a week and then, like many universities, to go online for the rest of the semester. Since I was already in Colorado for spring break, it looks like I'm going to stay here for the duration of the crisis.
While I was tempted to not look back at the weirdness that was 2019, I decided that in order to fully embrace 2020, I needed to reconcile the good with the bad in order to remind myself that life is full of complexities.
My first semester of grad school has been incredible, but it's also been difficult and challenging and I've struggled more than I could have ever imagined going in. I'm trying to be honest about my struggles, and also thankful for the big and little things that are helping me along the way.
While I typically using my weekends to explore Boston, pleasure read, and work on personal creative projects, I broke from that trend the last couple of weekends by spending my time volunteering and attending events in Boston. On October 11th and 12th, I both volunteered at and attended Leaky Con and on October 19th and 20th I volunteered at and attended the Boston Book Festival. Being able to be a part of the behind the scenes at these two events was a really incredible experience and though I didn't expect it, it affirmed my commitment to a sense of community. At both of these events I felt an invaluable sense of community (be it fandom or the literary community or both), and I was glad to interact with these larger communities in various ways.
Because the Horn Book offices are located on Simmons' campus, the university serves as a host for the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, which celebrate excellence in children's literature, are awarded in the summer and celebrated in the fall. I was overjoyed to have the chance to attend the ceremony and get to see first hand as award-winning authors and illustrators speak about their work. And of course, the book signing and reception afterwards were just the icing on the cake.
Bookishly Bright 