My journey to become a wandering teacher librarian began in January, 2016. It actually began years ago, but for purposes of this blog, it began when I decided to transform a dream into a reality. It all started with two emails. One, from the Library of Congress (LOC) telling me the application for the summer teacher institute was open. The second, from my school principal forwarding information about a grant opportunity for teachers who wanted to create their own professional development and needed funds to make it happen. Thus began the transformation of a dream. I have always wanted to attend the summer institute at the Library of Congress. I mean, it's the mothership to all librarians right? But a stay in Washington, D.C. can be costly, so I never even considered attending a reality. That is until I received word of the Fund for Teachers (FFT.) What an amazing opportunity to be able to create your own professional development anywhere in the world and have the travel and expenses provided! Upon further research, I decided to go for it. I worked diligently on both the LOC and FFT applications. I requested editing assistance from my school district's grant department, peers, my husband and even some brilliant students who I consider my groupies. I kept telling myself that the sun, moon and stars would have to align exactly for this to work out. I had to be accepted into the LOC institute and my FFT fellowship funded. What would I do if I got one but not the other? The waiting to hear was unnerving. I received the congratulatory email from LOC first and was delighted that I had been selected. However, I was still very tentative about being excited due to the funding issue. I had to wait two more weeks to receive word from FFT. The email was delivered on a bright day during my spring break. To say I was completely blown away by the news is definitely an understatement. The rest of the day, my husband kept saying "You're going to DC!" I really didn't believe it. I kept reading that email over and over. Well it was, and still is, true. I leave tomorrow for DC. I can't wait to see what this journey has in store for me. My goal for this blog is to memorialize my journey for proof that when you set a dream into motion it can become a reality. I hope that you will come back and read about my adventures.