High School
People as Pollinators
By: Joshua O'Shea, Young Adult Librarian
Pollinators flit and fly around from flower to flower. They never “stand” still, or sit, or lay, unlike large mammals. It’s where the expression “busy bee” comes from. Sometimes the bee is perfect. In fact, most of the time, bees are perfect. Honey bees have the highest population in the world and lead the charge
Read More
My Great Expectations
By: Saaniyah S., High School Blogger
When I finished Great Expectations by Charles Dickens for a summer assignment, the reality of Pip (the main character)’s life had me hooked for days. After all he had been through to create a high-end, ideal life, Pip ended up being exactly what he didn’t want to be at first—a laborer. I was not expecting
Read More
Visit Your Library for Meraki
By: Joshua O'Shea, Young Adult Librarian
Back and forth goes the little white dot, bouncing off paddles to score points. Imagine the paddles being work and play. To keep the balance in our lives, we ricochet between work and play. In this metaphor, we score points not by making another player miss the dot, but by keeping the ball moving. Mentally
Read More
Mindfulness
By: Joshua O'Shea, Young Adult Librarian
One of the best things in life just happened to me. I was out walking on the Prairie Path, minding my own business, trying not to get run over by a bicyclist and not feel bad about myself for not being a runner, when I heard one of the sounds I love most in life.
Read More
Meraki
By: Saaniyah S., High School Blogger
While scrolling through my Pinterest feed one day, I stumbled upon the definition of a word, meraki, and it stuck out to me among the food hacks, quotes, and other usual gimmicks. I read this post again and again, attempting to analyze the meaning. Meraki is a word of Greek origin, and its definition is
Read More
Fear
By: Saaniyah S., High School Blogger
If you are generally risk-averse, it is best to accept the raw truth that fear is a reality. Many people will go to great lengths to subtly wipe the irksome twinge of fear off their life palette; however, the act of avoiding experiences, emotions, and feelings that ignite fear is unavoidable. The Oxford Dictionary defines
Read More
What I Just Read: Dealing in Dreams
By: Joshua O'Shea, Young Adult Librarian
“At night, Las Mal Criadas own these streets.” Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera is like Mad Max mashed up with The Outsiders. Nalah runs a gang of hardcore girls who work for the head honcho of Mega City. Nalah must keep her crew in line, fight for basic needs, fend off rivals, and take
Read More
Gaming at GEPL
By: Joshua O'Shea, Young Adult Librarian
Virtual Reality (VR) can expand our horizons and help us experience new places or things. In 2018, the library had a VR Club for high schoolers that met a few times a month to try out different games and rate them for future use. There were a few regulars who came every time. Others only
Read More
Exploration Beyond Books
By: Joshua O'Shea, Young Adult Librarian
A dust cloud blooms on the surface of the red planet. There is no welcome party, there are no banners or noisemakers, no blinding paparazzi. Within view, only dusty planes, arid foothills, and open space. The visitor is a delegate from another planet who traveled millions of miles with no promise of ever reaching the
Read More
Being American to Me
By: Saaniyah S., High School Blogger
Each year, ever since I was a young girl, I sit down to a table of hot Indian dishes for an Eid celebration. In the middle of our table is a big bowl of spicy rice and meat, biryani. Pickle is always served alongside this, not to mention crunchy Indian crackers, papad. Everything is spicy
Read More