Missed opportunities
For the past year or so, I have been engaged in my first semester at the library sciences program at the University of Toronto. Throughout that time, I've been learning all of the necessary skills to eventually go into a career as a librarian. Now, one thing that I had heard people previously talk about before I started the course was the importance of networking, as a list of good contacts can help pave the way to a solid career in the academic or public stream.
One year later? Not a single bit of successful networking done. I don't know if it was my reluctance to engage/help my teachers outside of class, my seeming inability to open up to other people. One big library conference I attended (and paid 300+ dolalrs for entry into) was an area where I hoped to make some truly excellent networking contacts. The end result? No successful networking, AND I arrived late on the day they were holding the job fare AND remembered what room it was being held in far, far, far too late.
So in short, all of my hard work and studies have essentially gone towards nothing, all thanks to my inability to seize the initiative and actually think about my future for once. I hope someone here has some positive feedback, observations that I hadn't considered, or advice on how to get myself out of this hole now that one semester is over. In the meantime, I'm off to go drown my sorrows in alcohol.