On the Road to Becoming a Woman of Letters

One of the things that truly drew me to Supernatural in the first place was the way the Winchesters wanted to make their world a better place. Sam and Dean do what they do to make other people’s lives safer and happier and better. They do what they do to make a difference. They do what they do to make an impact on the wider community—even if they don’t receive any recognition or compensation or reward for what they do day in and day out. The Winchester brothers have been heroes to me for as long as I’ve been watching the show.

In many ways, Supernatural has set me onto a path that I wouldn’t have found otherwise. I had been drifting for quite some time between graduating college with my BA in Creative Writing to when I found the show. I’d work, pay bills, rinse and repeat. It was okay, dull, boring, and altogether without meaning on many levels. I didn’t have any real inspiration to do something else or go anywhere else or look for something to do with my life. I didn’t do much outside of work and my time off consisted mostly of vegging in front of the television watching rather empty shows or not doing much of anything at all.

Then I found Supernatural and the show gave me a lot of ground to explore. The themes and the questions and the storylines it pursued allowed me to think about the world and myself—and most importantly the place I have in it. One of the things that really caught my eye early on was how Sam and Dean went about solving their cases. In the early seasons especially, Sam and Dean went out of their way to go to the library in the towns where they were currently working a job and dig into the lore or the history or whatever to get to the truth. It’s in the Pilot. It’s in so much of their routine in the earlier seasons and it just really intrigued me that these two men would go to a library to piece together the evidence. Sure, Sam and Dean shoot up and stab and use some kick ass skills to beat their supernatural opponents—but it was the power of knowledge that I realized had to be their biggest and best weapon.

As the years rolled by—and the seasons became more complex—that aspect has only become a bigger part of their story. The introduction of the Men of Letters—and the notion that “librarians” are the best and smartest people in the room triggered something in me. I knew I could never be a hunter—considering that as far as we’re aware, there’s no such thing as actual monsters and such and that I wasn’t physically built to do it—but to pursue knowledge? I knew I could do that. I knew that knowledge could open doors for not only myself but for others.

So, I started to dream about becoming a librarian. Part of the problem, though, is the degree I need to become a full-fledged one is expensive and I work in retail, so do the math. I don’t make enough to pay down the student loans I already have and I certainly don’t make enough to pay for more school—yet. And so, I started to volunteer for free, just to get to know the library and the collection and some very rudimentary stuff about working in a library. I also started to volunteer twice a week with a local literacy program that helps immigrants and refugees in my area learn English and civics and more. It’s been a joy to meet these people and learn from them as much as I teach them—and I feel in many ways that I’m taking the things the show’s inspired in me for years out into the real world. Sam and Dean save the world from grand evil and Apocalypses and more. I’m trying to make a difference by bringing education and knowledge to the community I live in—and while that’s not nearly as grandiose, it hopefully provides a real impact on the world at large in the long run. After all, some of the people we help acclimate to America may go on someday to contribute something significant in science, technology, or cure some disease. Anything is possible!

That volunteer thing just turned into a real job—part time. It’ll help me on my way to following Sam and Dean’s example and making a difference in the world. If I can’t hunt, I can at least be a Woman of Letters, right? It’s only a “page” type position, but it’ll give me real experience, a lot more hands on learning at the library itself, and give me a foundation for when I do actually apply to graduate school in the next couple years. The job I’m starting this week will allow me to learn, hands on, the basics of collection building in the library, how to display it for browsers, and how to prepare materials for the shelves. I’m super excited to get into the nitty-gritty of library work—and earn that title of Woman of Letters.

With all that being said, it is with a heavy heart that I have to step back for the time being from writing weekly Supernatural reviews. I’m still watching faithfully. I’m still impressed by some of the shades of grey and the explorations they’ve had in the last couple episodes—but the time crunch is pretty evident right now. So, for now, I’ll be stepping away and not writing my weekly reviews. In a month or two, when the dust settles and things seem to be in a new routine, maybe I’ll come back to it. Otherwise, I’ll try and write a few other pieces when I can squeeze it into my newly busy schedule.

It’s been a real honor sharing so much of my thoughts with you for the last few seasons of Supernatural. It’s been a real joy and I’ve learned about my writing style and more by doing these reviews. I’m glad that so many of you have read them each week so faithfully and gotten so much out of them. I’m hoping I can find time to write some other articles in the meantime, but we’ll see how the new schedule goes. I’ll try and keep everyone updated when I can!

But, after all, as Sam and Dean say: We got work to do!