Purpose
The tagline to this blog is "Building a life worth re-reading.”
That’s my goal. My aim. My purpose.
I am not trying to teach others how to build a life worth re-reading. I am not qualified for that. However, I am trying to build a life for myself that I can be satisfied with. A part of that life is writing.
My name is Justin. I've long been a writer and reader of words. As a child, all I ever wanted to be was a published author. Preferably of some great fantasy epic, similar to that of Tolkien or R.A. Salvatore. Since that hasn't manifested for me yet, I've settled on the next best thing.
Being a librarian!
Reading and books are what I do. Well, that is actually what I do in my free time. My day-to-day work life largely centers around budget, project, and people management. I'm the Director of a small library in Texas, but that's writing for another day.
I'm a husband. My wife and I have been married for more than a decade. In that time I've learned that it takes a real daily effort, from both parties, to make a successful go at life together. It is worth that effort though. She's my best friend. My confidant. My biggest supporter. She's a big part of the reason I'm on this platform writing these words. She pushes me to be better. She gives me encouragement. She makes edits to my writing because I'm shit at commas, and I still think she's pretty awesome, even after all these years.
I'm a father. A girl dad to be more specific. I have two of them. I try to teach them stuff, like how to be good humans, but honestly I learn more from them than they probably do from me. That may be cliché, but it's the truth.
I enjoy the outdoors. Camping, hiking, kayaking, fishing, and recently birding. I grew up outside. My formative years were spent outdoors working on the family farm and camping with my local Boy Scout Troop. I now try to share that love of the outdoors with my girls. I read somewhere recently that “nature is cheaper than therapy.” I think that rings pretty true. It's hard to beat an evening walk through the woods or witnessing a sunrise from a kayak.
This blog, JustintheStacks, is about my life as a librarian, a husband, a father, and outdoorsman. It's not very niche, but I try to write about what I know.
You will find topics here on my interests, maybe they will be of interest to you too.
Thanks for reading.