My plan for the future is to become a youth services librarian, specifically focusing on teen services. What inspired me to become a youth services librarian was the ability to work with teens and inspire them to read books that they enjoy. Originally, my plan was to teach, but the idea of making teens read books that they wouldn't enjoy or connect with didn't fit with how I saw reading. To me, reading is meant to be fun, to inspire, and to take you to a far-away place. Becoming a librarian would allow me to connect teens with books that they were actually interested in. After my time as an MS LIS student, I've learned, grown, and revised my original goals that I entered the program with. Through the lessons I've learned, homework I've done, and projects I've completed, I've learned that the library can be more than even what I originally thought. 

Now, I want to do more than just encourage teens to become interested in reading. I see that the library can be more than just a place to read. Growing up, my home library didn't offer teens a space or activities to do. They mostly focused on young children and adults. It made us feel as though the space was not somewhere we were meant to be. However, I now realize that libraries shouldn't just welcome young children and adults; it should be welcoming to everyone, including teenagers. My goal as a librarian is to help create an environment that teens can feel comfortable in. I want to be able to offer them a space that they feel comfortable existing and being themselves in while also giving them the resources and services they're looking for. Learning to keep track of upcoming trends and technologies, coming up with new program ideas, and keeping the interests of my population in mind are just some of the skills I've learned during my time as an MS LIS student that will help me to reach my goals of inspiring literacy and creating a welcoming environment for teens to enjoy.