campus mode, continue on the campus road: i'm a librarian, but i'm also a bunch of anime boys and an animal. ama

How has your alterhumanity been part of how you chose your path in your education, professional training, career, or work? (If it hasn't, can you think of a way that it could?)

lol this one’s funny. So!

Hi! I’m Narancia Ghirga from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Also, I have three degrees, and just recently graduated with a MLIS (a Masters degree in Library and Information Science). Non-Jojo fans may be thinking things like: oh, was Narancia smart? Did he like to read? Jojo fans, on the other hand, will be going “what the actual fuck.”

Surprise! I was known for being dumb as a bag of rocks.

Basically, I went to elementary school… and then not much else. I actually? Dropped out of elementary school? Not going to traumadump or anything, but my mom wasn’t in the picture and my dad was abusive and neglectful. I had a really bad group of friends, too. Eventually, I ended up homeless. So… yeah, didn’t really get a proper education! That isn’t to say I didn’t want to go to school, of course. I was honestly really self conscious about everything. So, when my friend offered to tutor me, I took him up on that! …I mean like. I didn’t know what I was doing and we stabbed each other a lot over things like elementary level math, but… I appreciated the sentiment! As much as I wanted to go back to school, be “normal” or whatever, I, uh. Well, I died. Damn.

And, now I’m here. Living a life that… still isn’t the norm. A little better than the life I used to live, a little worse because, well, joining the mafia saved my life. It sucks not having that anymore. But! On the school front! I made it through all of my years of schooling, graduating from high school! I then immediately went into college in the fall, getting my AAS in Communication Design (think of it like advertising, but specifically the artistic aspects!) and my BS in Museum Professions. I took a semester off after my graduation, before fully burying myself in my MLIS. And, well, I just finished my last semester a few days ago! And I passed! Sooooo! I’m getting another degree in May! Super hype! That’s probably it for my schooling, unless I, for some reason, decide that “what if i could legally stab someone (surgeon)” or “what if i could scream arguments at people (lawyer)” which I won’t, but it is funny to think about, lol.

So, what now? Well, I currently work as a children’s librarian trainee, but once I get my degree officially, I’ll be promoted to a full librarian. I love working with kids! It can be really fun, even if sometimes their parents frustrate the hell out of me. Most of my classes I took in my MLIS were dedicated to children and teens, so I’d love to work in that area most of all. Youth services! My calling! I can be silly there! Adult section librarians have to worry about like. Shit like “hey guys who wants to come to my program about writing your will” (actual program, no joke) Meanwhile, we recently did a competition of “who would you like to see pop out of your toilet?” (the winner was taylor swift, but there were, in fact, three submissions for skibidi toilet.)

So, what does this have to do with being Narancia, other than the contrast being funny?

Well! I may have these degrees, but I still consider myself dumb as fuck. I struggle with memorization, can never pay attention in school, procrastinate to hell and back, and can’t wrap my head around 90% of things. Some people might say, “You’re neurodivergent, mentally ill, and literally have an amnesia disorder. You’re not dumb! Just disabled.” And like. Yeah that’s true. But also I’m a little self conscious, you know? I feel stupid as hell. I know why I’m like this, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling like an idiot. So, I have that similarity. I’m mentally ill and terrible in school, in both this life and that one. So, why do I have all of these degrees, and why am I working in education?

Simple! I’m stupid, so I’d like to help people learn. This makes… maybe no sense. But! I want to support those learning. I want to help people discover a love of learning. I love to learn! I can’t absorb the information, but I love learning! And I want people to love that too. I can’t write an essay without bullshitting the crap out of it and getting a 75, but I’d like to support those who are. I want to connect people with the resources they need to help themselves get a proper education. I didn’t get to before, after all! So I’d like to help. There’s also the fact that I was, in this life and in my life as Narancia, kind of treated like shit! In this life, I found a home in my local library when I was younger. It helped me to get away from it all. In my life as Narancia, I joined the mafia, and made friends I cared about more than anything in the world. I want to provide people with comfort. I want them to know that they can feel safe in the library. I actually have like! A lot of LGBT and neurodiversity related stuff on my desk and lanyard, so people know that I’m safe to talk to. It works, too! I regularly think about the teenage girl who came up to me one day, when my desk isn’t even in the teen section, just so she could show me the yuri manga she found. But yeah! I want to help people learn, and I want to help people feel supported and safe. The mafia did all of this for me. So, I’m kind of? Giving it back, in a way! Funnily enough, I didn’t realize I was Narancia until I was already going through my MLIS, so looking back and seeing where everything lines up is really funny! I was always meant to be Narancia, and I was always meant to help people! (And, I am Iori Motohashi from Charisma House, so… helping people, in general, is in my blood!)

Remember to support your local library! Libraries offer so many resources, and also so much fun! Manga, novels, movies, games, programming, ebooks… libraries are great! Also… know that at some library, maybe even your local library! There is a librarian that is a bunch of fictional characters in a trench coat. And a dog-rabbit-thing. Alterhumans are everywhere!

also if you’re wondering “wait this guy says he cant write essays why is he writing a bunch of alterhuman essays” do you think i proofread this shit. its a stream of consciousness. its an essay in name only. Ok but on like a serious note i struggle with reading more academic shit and stuff worded professionally so i like keeping shit a little more casual so that way people who are like me can read about the experiences of others without being like “yall what the fuck is op saying”