Some days this job doesn't seem worth it...

And then there are days when it does. Like today.

It's been pretty quiet in the library this week, and completely dead today. Today was the last day of finals and graduation is tomorrow. I caught up on some writing, editing, and organizing. You know--end of term stuff.

Mid-afternoon a student showed up at my door. If you asked me his name I couldn't tell you, but he has been in at least one of my classes every quarter since I've been here. Last quarter I told him I would try not to bore him--since he really had heard everything I was going to say. (I call them "my classes" because I work much closer with the classes and students here than I did at Ye Olde University.) Anyway, I always liked this student. He was never afraid to ask for help. That may sound simple, but many people can't ask for help. Or when they come to me they try to be a know-it-all or they are ashamed they couldn't do it on their own.

This student would show up in my office or come to me when I was at the desk, books in hand, trying to find that one piece he was missing. He never came across as entitled or needy. He just knew when to ask for help. By last quarter he'd come to me at the end of an assignment with a list of sources he had checked, knowing I'd ask him where he had already looked. But there was always that one piece that eluded him.

So today he stopped by to tell me he was graduating tomorrow. And he wanted to thank me because he couldn't have done it without my help.

Y'all, I almost cried, I was so touched.

The only thing students at Ye Olde University ever did was try to hug me after getting loaded in a local bar.