When I was two, I watched ants on our sidewalk.
When I was four, I collected itty bitty snails on our driveway after it rained.
When I was five, I tried to "fish" for my goldfish with a worm I dug up in the backyard.
When I was six, I tried to make a bird's nest- how hard could it be? (it turns out, it's really quite difficult architecture for a six year old).
When I was eight, I fell in love with the local nature center and spent every summer there until I went to college.
When I was nine, I had the most amazing third grade teacher who encouraged my interest in science.
When I was ten, my teacher who let me write a non-fiction book about monarch butterflies instead of a fictional story.
When I was eleven, I started a club with my friends called EcoActors to promote recycling and raise money to conserve rainforest.
When I was twelve, other kids mocked me by calling me "nature girl".
When I was thirteen, I had a great jr. high science teacher.
When I was fourteen, I started the advanced science track in high school.
When I was fifteen and sixteen, I mostly forgot about all that nature stuff. It was mentally on the back burner while I dealt with high school drama.
When I was seventeen, I got a 5 on my AP biology exam.
When I was eighteen, I started college, having chosen my school based on the strength of the biology program (especially in ecology and evolution).
When I was nineteen, I traveled abroad to study biology in a phenomenal location and I was hooked on biology and hooked on traveling.
When I was twenty, I spent a semester in Africa.
When I was twenty-one, I did a summer research internship.
When I was twenty-two, I graduated not knowing exactly what I wanted to do next.
When I was twenty-three, I had a job teaching environmental education and decided to go to grad school.
When I was twenty-four, I quit my job and traveled for a year with my partner, and applied to grad school.
When I was twenty-five, I started grad school.
When I'm thirty-one, I hope to have my Ph.D. and a job I enjoy.
7 comments:
Awesome post! So cool to see how you "evolved" :)
I remember our environment club! We cleaned up garbage in the park and went to see Free Willy! (however, you left off your camp experience at a nature preserve!)
At the age of 4 or 5 you insisted on staying at a certain science museum exhibit for over an hour. You didn't want to leave until you had seen the complete process of a chick hatching from an egg.
Thanks Alyssa!
m.e., I included that in the nature center/every summer line :-)
Mom, I remember that, but I think I was a little bit older, maybe 7. I learned that it takes a long time from the first little hole in the egg until I chick comes out.
I didn't know you were in environmental education! I think you know, but that's what I did for the last two years. I absolutely love it, but the job prospects and pay are not so happy. Since the PhD thing just isn't my deal, I'm now in teacher school. I'll read all the cool stuff you publish and then get to teach my students all about it!
I love nature centers and wish i had discovered them earlier in life. I didn't know nature centers existed, really, until I got a job at one.
I thought I'd mentioned that before, but maybe it was way back in some of my very first posts. I loved my job in EE. I really thought about becoming a teacher. I hope you love it!
The journey to your blog took me 40 years.:) We evolved.
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