As the semester is coming to an end, this course has excelled in creating many perspectives on how the hyperlinked library model can create so many different routes to walk through. My topic, which was food literacy, helped me reinforce what I knew but also helped me understand more of it. My reflection on the power of stories and assignment X post was really an eye-opener because of how much we interact with people on a daily basis. The power of stories really gave me the opportunity to express what stories can create in a person. Stories create connections when they are told, which builds character for those who want to learn and be proactive in life. The power of stories can be related in many different ways, From struggles to protecting something, there is always something out there for everyone to share and really create that spark to move and act upon. 

Assignment X: participation and human service connection was another one that resonated for me because, coming from a restaurant background, it really plays a massive role of how showing up and being a person dictates their own values and beliefs onto food. What I remember and will never forget is a big portrait, “Ichi-go, ichi-e”. This idiom means “one time, one meeting”. This refers to eating or just being somewhere—a restaurant, a bookstore, or a library—the time between us sitting and waiting for a meal or picking up a book and talking about it at the Human Library. That time encompasses that moment. After that moment has passed, you can no longer recreate it because that energy is gone. Again, times that we make connections can also create stories, and that can always be the driving force for many things. Through the course, it has made me think about how we can change ourselves and how libraries can help people find themselves through resources and a new starting point in life.