I had an NPR Parking Lot Moment this morning. I was listening to a talk show guest describe the way he coached his clients to connect with audiences by communicating authentically, briefly, and with passion. He spoke about preparing people he worked with to become more effective speakers by asking them questions inspired by Steve Jobs: Why are you passionate about this? What in this makes your heart sing?

I’ve found that I reflect on everything now that I’m in my last month of library school–especially how much I have learned, and how very, very much there is out there to yet be learned and created. I’ve been thinking, too, about my own mix of grounded idealism and optimistic realism. The news program this morning reminded me of a rapid-fire task we completed on my first day of library school, which was to write a headline about ourselves. My headline was:

Student Idealist seeks to empower huddled masses through information science.

While my ideas and perspective have changed greatly during library school, my heart is constant. What makes my heart sing?

Connecting people with information makes my heart sing–because information empowers people.