Marine Mammal Medic Course

Hey Team!

So last weekend a bunch of my friends and I took the Marine Mammal Medic Course with British Divers Marine Life Rescue. They are an organization for the UK and Ireland that are basically strandings response. If a seal, dolphin, porpoise or whale wash up on the beaches of Britain, you call their hotline and they send people (now) like me out to (hopefully) save them. They have an extensive volunteer web complete with locals, scientists and marine vets who all just want to lend a hand when they can.

Now, once I leave the UK I won't really be able to be part of their volunteer base. But I took the course to get stranding training, because every little bit helps. I have a basic understanding of what to do for a stranding and what is needed, which will look much better compared to someone who has no idea where to even start off.

Every country, province, state, county, what have you, will have a different way of responding to strandings based on resource availability. But knowing something, anything, is better than knowing nothing.

It was a one day course. the first half was lectures - how to identify marine mammals, and the theory for a seal, dolphin, small whale and porpoise rescues.

Lectures on Strandings

What to do with a mass stranding (more than one individual)

After lunch was the fun part - we got to practice a seal, dolphin and pilot whale stranding! Now obviously we couldn't use real animals, but the inflatable versions were just as fun!

With seals, like most injured animals, they can get mean and defensive. The main thing is to keep control of the head so you don't get bitten and diseased. True story. Control the head while you check vitals and injuries, then either put it back in the water or crate it and take it to the closest rehab centre.

Throw a towel over it's head to keep it calm and to keep control

Dolphins need their skins kept wet and cool - so make sure to keep wet sheets on them constantly. Check for injuries and make sure a vet takes a look while you monitor vital signs. If the vet gives it the okay, haul it back into the water, and release it when it has the energy to go!

Taking the dolphin back into the water (Photo courtesy of James Bailey)

Small whales (but larger than dolphins) need to be refloated using pontoons - because you try carrying a two tonne animal. Keep them wet and cool, check vitals, get a vet to give the okay, then inflate pontoons around them and release them back when they're ready!

Stabilizing the whale for the vet's inspection and refloatation (Photo courtesy of James Bailey)

setting up the pontoons for refloatation (Photo courtesy of James Bailey)

Obviously this is a watered down version of instructions, but I think it gives you an idea.

"Baywatching" out of the water (Photo courtesy of James Bailey)

If you have the opportunity to take a strandings course, I recommend it. You never know what kind of situation you'll find yourself in working with marine mammals, so it's best to be prepared. Plus it looks great on a CV, and there seem to be quite a few strandings jobs open at any given moment.

It was a fun day with good weather and good friends. I'm so lucky I had this opportunity here in Wales.

Research volunteers turned marine mammal medics!

Speak Loud!



"So, When Do We Move On From This?"

Hey Team!

Sorry for the silence. Being home has been quiet. Too quiet for me. I've gone back to old jobs, picked up a new one, but I am feeling very much liked a beached whale - out of my home element and slightly crushed beneath the enormous weight of my future.

It's only been just over a month since I've been home, but I am feeling super out of it all. I'm hoping not to do another internship, but jobs are scarce and competition is high. And grad school opens a whole new can of questions about the who, what and where of it all.

Sometimes it feels like it would be so much easier to do... well, pretty much anything else.

Which some people in my life seem to think is the next step. Rather than just sitting back and letting me do my thing (which I am trying to, really I am), there are people in my life that still seem to think that this is a phase of my life.

I joke a lot about how people always say to me "I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was a kid" when I tell them what I do. Most kids go through a phase where they want to connect to animals as their dream job. But they grow up and turn towards more suitable jobs that family, friends or general society tell them would be better for them.

So I think some people believe that I'm just still in that kid phase. That one day I will grow up, snap out of it, put on the suit and head into an office or a operation room or a class room for the rest of my life.

So I was talking about my current predicament and someone who I always thought understood me and my life says, in the straightest of voices, I swear to you, "So, when do we move on from this?" meaning  - when do we give up on this whole marine biology dream and do something worthwhile with your life?

Let me tell you - there is no moving on. There is nothing more worthwhile. I may never own a house or go on expensive vacations or be able to retire at a reasonable age, but I don't really care. Because I am going to wake up every morning in whatever shack I end up living in, and want to get on my bike and go to work everyday until I die because there is no plan B.

This is my life. Either get on board or jump ship. Come Hell or high water, this captain will sink or swim with her ship of dreams.

Enough cheesy water lines,
Speak Loud!

Let Me Tell You Something About the Ocean

Let me tell you something about the ocean, and why I love it so much.

The last couple weeks we've been on and off the water, at the mercy of the weather. Some days out have been flat calm, freakishly so. Most are a little rough, but nothing too hard to handle. A couple have been rough. Pretty darn rough. Halfway up the sea state scale rough. Rain, waves, swell... not pretty.

But I love it. Every. Single. Moment.

And I want to tell you why.

There are many biomes in the world. Rainforest, tundra, desert, prairie. And the ocean.

The ocean is my absolute favourite.

Since I was young, "small" has never really been a word used to describe me. In any sense. My personality has always been somewhat too large for myself, and my voice and opinions... well, they've never been good at keeping to themselves. My room is always messy. I needed a double desk in high school to spread out all my books and papers. I need two screens for my laptop just to finish assignments.

I love open space.

And I don't think it gets any more open than the ocean.

Growing up in the prairies, open space is not a new concept to me. You drive about 10 minutes outside the city and you get fields and fields of tall-grass prairie or farmer's fields. The space is vast and inviting. But still, off in the horizon, you see a small forest of trees. Or a long stretch of powerlines. Fields are separated by farmsteads and machinery, and the occasional cow.

All of a sudden, my vast expanse of earth is getting cluttered. And I can see everything that is there, right on the surface.

Terrain: 0, Ocean: 1.

Once you get past any islands close to shore, the open ocean is flawless. Wide, open space going on forever. Nothing to mark the surface.

And then it goes down.

The ocean is a three dimensional world of it's own. The vast space is not just on the surface, but under the surface as well. It just goes on in every direction in three dimensions forever.

So when I am standing on the shore, or especially on a boat, I love the feeling of immensity around me. Some people have to look at the starts to feel small, but I just need a shoreline.

Another thing I absolutely love is how completely unpredictable she can be. The sea is a fickle creature, not one to be patronized. And I'm not even talking day-to-day changes, that's just weather. I'm talking hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute changes. And yes, you get crazy weather on land too, but the difference is that on land, the change is in the wind, and rain and such. On the water, it not only changes the air around you, but the surface on which you're standing. It's incredible if you think about it! On land, no matter how hard it's raining or how fast the wind if blowing, the ground stays firm and flat under your feet (obviously not in all cases: see sandstorms, blizzards on the snow and mudslides). It's completely the opposite on the water. And to me, that makes it totally spectacular.

Have you been so overwhelmed by beauty that you just want to scream? If not, I feel sorry for you, it's one of the best feelings to ever experience. I have that feeling every time I am near the ocean.

So in case you were wondering, that's my take on why I love the ocean so much more than anything else in this world.

Speak Loud!

Mentoring With the Best of Them

Hey Team, sorry for the lack of catchy title, the song in my head was just too long.

So I am sitting pretty in Croatia, doing a lot of data work. photo-ID matching, data entry, cropping photos, renaming files, organizing files, etc. Lots of busy work while we wait for the weather to clear up so we can get on the waters again.

But I am here to talk about teaching and mentoring. Because all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I have become a mentor.

Woah.

I mean, that was the point of this blog at the beginning, you know? To give hints and tips about marine biology to try and help others who are just starting down this path. I think it's become something a little different, but I think it's still possible to learn something from all my babbling.

Anyways. Mentors. I have had quite a few in my life. Sticking with those in my career path, most of them have been grad students, older than me, already partway through their own research who for reasons beyond my comprehension took a special interest in my quest to become a marine biologist and let me help them with their lab work, taught me how to look for grants, how to write applications and let me use their names when trying to find work.

And they helped. I came to them with questions, hopes, dreams and they actually cared. I know, I'm surprised as well. They were my friends and my teachers. Mentors.

Higher up the ladder, my supervisor for my honours thesis has also been a mentor for almost 3 years now. She's taught me how to write science articles, how to think critically about statistics and how to perform real behavioural experiments. Also my boss at DFO, probably for some strange reasons of his own, is always willing to hire me back when I am in Winnipeg, and has offered up a variety of projects if I ever have a long stretch of time with him.

These are people that if there was ever an 'Oscars' for my life, would be thanked in my awards speech. It's true that without them I would have probably failed. Miserably.

**

I have been a swimming instructor for 7 years. Five consecutively, then on and off for 2 years while I have been travelling. I have always, always, loved teaching, though usually I keep it to people under the age of 12.

One of the other interns here in Croatia is in her 2nd year of university in Germany, and she is just starting to do lab work and internships in marine biology. She has a lot of questions about different internships around the world, and how to do things like photo-ID and data entry.

It's not like I have a decade of experience under my belt, but I have enough that I can answer her questions, and now I have become one of those people who taught me so much. She asks me questions, tells me her plans for the future, and I answer her and encourage her.

The strangest part is that we are the same age. In Germany they start university a year late and she took a gap year, so although we are the same age, there is a big enough gap in our life paths that I can be a mentor to her.

It's weird though; I know that I take everything my own mentor's say so seriously, and now there's the chance that there is someone in the world doing the same with me.

It's a strange feeling, but a good one. I hope there will be lots and lots people I can help and teach in the future, because there are few things in life I love more.

There is also someone back home a friend got me in contact with that might also be asking advice about how to get into the field. I'm really hoping to lend her a hand, even if the competitor monster in me is roaring for me to stop. I so should have become a doctor.

**

Anyways, that was just a little thing about mentors. Not much to take from it, other than if you have the opportunity to become a mentor to someone, take it. You need patience, but it feels so rewarding when you know that you are making a difference in someone's life. And they are old enough to appreciate it.

Speak Loud!

It's a Mans World... Or Is It?

Hi Everyone!

 This might seem a little out of place, but my grandmother sent this video to me because it reminded her of me, and not to seem conceited or anything, it reminded me of myself as well.

 Science has always been a mans world. It seems like only within the last generation or so am I reading women names in my journal articles. It's no surprise that the farther up you go in the chain of research, at the end of it all you are more likely to find a man than a woman.

 But it's changing, and I am one of the many trying to change it.

 When I was finishing grade 6 and figuring out where to go for middle school and potentially high school, my dad was pretty adamant about placing me in an all girls school because, he believed, there would be a better chance of me getting a strong education in math and science, because he understood then (and I definitely didn't) that math and science is a mans world.

 But my love of theatre, my ambition for challenge and my preference for public school won out in the end, and I don't think my education suffered. I lucked out with amazing math and science teachers that certainly but no emphasis on gender in the classroom, and I won't deny that the female population in all my classes kick butt. But looking back, I understand and appreciate my dad's worries. Especially because he thought I was going to be a doctor (just kidding... I think).

 I grew up in a house of feminists. Go get a copy of Cat in the Hat right now. Read through it. Notice how Suzy doesn't say a single word of her own? Her brother talks for her the entire time. This is not the story my sister and I grew up with. It wasn't until we were reading on our own did we realize this, because my dad had an extraordinary habit of giving lines to Suzy. That's the house I grew up in.

 So ladies, it's time to break barriers. Yes, our grandmothers did their share, so did our mothers. But there are still walls to take down, and we don't need to call a man in to do it. I am young and naive and I know it, but I do think I'll be able to have a hectic, life-sucking job and still be able to raise a family the way I want to.

 Anyways, this video. Basically saying all the same things I was brought up to believe, but by a woman who has done it. I enjoyed it so much, and I hope you do too. For any men reading this blog, I think you can also enjoy it, and think about what she says on what true equality is in a relationship.

 Speak Loud!

Holding Out for a Hero

... Or at least a blue whale.

Day Five - Friday

Feeling of the day: Determined.

It was a pretty laid-back day. After the wild night of Manatee Mayhem, no one really wanted (or were able) to concentrate on lots of talks in the morning. So I went to a few, just the ones I thought I'd really get something out of, but spent a lot of the day sleeping and exploring downtown Tampa.

The reason the feeling of the day was determined was that I found myself with a really strong grasp on what I want my Masters to look like. And I think that while it's problematic to close yourself in too much, because then you lose out on opportunities, it's important to know your limits and what is going to make you happy. An opportunity is torture when you are miserable.

So I started working through a lot of that during the week, but today it was finalized in my mind.

I don't want to go to school in the United States. I don't like the way their graduate school system works, it's ridiculously expensive and quite frankly, I really prefer Canada as a country and as a people. I've been asked if that means I wouldn't consider going farther abroad for school, but I think I'd be okay in another British-style country. Which works out for me, because that's where a lot of blue whale research goes on (for example: Australia. Or the UK).

Another thing I determined is the type of "perscientist" I want to be. Yes, I just made up the word 'perscientist'. It is a combination of 'person' and 'scientist', because with some people, they way they are professionally is different than the way they are personally, and that just doesn't sit right with me. Unfortunately, I am trying to throw myself into an exceptionally competitive field. So when it comes to other people in the same state of affairs as myself, it's natural to want to don fangs and claws and beat them at everything.

And I have met them all here. The people who are amazingly supportive of my dreams and offer lots of advice and names and business cards. And the ones that give you the once over when you express similar goals to theirs. It's part of the game, but you have to figure out what kind of 'perscientist' you want to be, because it's not enough to just be nice to those farther down the line. The best way to know someone's character is how they treat their direct competition.

Another thing (sorry this post has no flow!) is that over this week I got a lot of advice. Which is great, but can seem overwhelming as you try to sift through it all. That's why it's important to have a really clear idea of what will make you the most happy. Because it's really easy to feel like you have to take everyone's advice, because they've been around the field longer and do probably know better. But they don't know you better. So while one person was telling me all about places to try and get research spots pertaining to killer whales, I smiled and nodded and wrote them down, but in the back of my mind I was thinking 'I don't want to invest too much time into looking into all this until I know that my blue whale research will fall through.' And if there's is the smallest chance that I can start fulfilling dreams, I am going to take them, even if it's a little bit more work.

So advice: know your limits, be nice to the competition (one day they won't be competition anymore), be nice to those struggling beneath you (you were once them) and don't feel like you need to take everyone's advice all the time, because they don't know you as well as you do.

Wow. A whole five days of blogging. How do people do this on a regular basis? I should be going back to my sporadic updates now that I am back home in Sarasota and that the internship is winding down.

But something for all you readers to look forward to... 27 days until I land in Puerto Rico, then 12 days later I start my next internship!

Speak Loud!

Who'da Thunk?

So generally, there are skills that everyone thinks about when they want to go into any biology field. An iron stomach, good with computers, fast learners, deep thinkers and an drive for natural knowledge.

For marine biology, skills like boating experience, no fear of water, exceptional swimming skills and comfortable around/ handling large aquatic animals are also a plus.

as I said in a previous post, there are other really great skills for an an aspiring marine biologist. Lifeguarding, first aid, scuba, boating licence, are all things that say "Not only do I know how to be safe in and around water, but I would be an asset on a boat in case of an emergency and you don't have to put in the time or money to train me yourself!". Trust me, it's a good thing to 'say' all these things.

But then, there are the skills you picked up in the most random of places that you don't think about putting on a CV but that do actually come in handy in the strangest of ways. And even if you don't advertise them directly to your future employers, once you have miraculously found a job, they will help prove yourself a capable scientist. Which, really, is the goal in life.

Like the last post, I'm going to use myself as an example... because really, that's all I know.

Horseback riding - How to make bouncing not hurt

A long time ago, as a gift, my grandmother bought me a year's worth of horseback riding lessons. I had already participated in a week long day camp at another horse stable the summer before, and I had had a lot of fun. So I was eager to get back on the horse (pun intended) and make it a weekly activity.

I had a total blast. My Dad explained to me later on in life "The lessons weren't about competition or even learning to be a master rider. It was so that in the future you wouldn't be scared of riding a horse." It wasn't about making it a major part of my life, but making sure I never limit my future adventures.

Little did either of us know that it would also help keep my backside happy on the rolling waves. Let me explain.

There is a skill in horseback riding called 'posting'. It's where you move your body almost opposite of the horse's movements while trotting. Trotting is a very bouncy style of movement, and when you just sit on the horse while you trot, it can lead to a very sore bottom at the end of the day. So posting keeps you off the horse at the right moments, so your butt isn't killing (as much) when you're done. It's done by sort of standing up in the stirrups at the right moments.

I have found, while in a small boat on not-so-calm waters, that I am recalling my posting practice while sitting and looking for dolphins. Not that these are monster swells in any sense, but when you're going fast over waves or another boat's wake, you can get bounced about quite a bit. But if you lift yourself up at just the right moment, you don't feel it as badly. I actually found myself doing it unconsciously, and I had to smile a bit as this long lost skill made it's reappearance.

Swing Dancing - Awesome Balance


If there is one thing I love doing almost as much as science, it's swing dancing. I've been at it for almost 3 years now, and it has reshaped my life in all the best ways possible. I am obsessed.

One of the biggest things about swing dancing is balance. Because you are being tossed, twirled and flung around the dance floor, and there are plenty of moves that don't require two feet on the the ground at the same time. Plus the interaction with another person means you have to really be in control of your own body, more so than some other dances.

So while I will not pretend to be an expert dancer, I hold my own and I know that my personal balance has gotten better since I started. I've learned good stances and how to hold my body so that I don't fall over easily.

I think this one is obvious in how it's connected to work on the water. In small vessels, balance is important. Especially is you have to be able to do things on the boat, like take pictures or collect samples. If you can keep your balance in waves or poor boat drivers (cough, me, cough), then you are doing dandy, and things don't have to take forever.

Now I'm not saying I have the best balance on the boat. Obviously people who have spent more time on boats are better acclimated to the exact type of movement, but for someone who has not spent any time on marine waters and have never had to deal with these types of conditions, I think I'm doing pretty well, thanks to swing dancing.

Sleep-away Summer Camp - Living with others


One of the biggest changes for me moving to Florida was living away from my parents, and having to live with people I've never met before. Most of the other interns down here are accustomed to that, as University students usually move away from home at 18, even if they are going to school in the same city as their childhood home. But for me, it was a new experience.

Or was it?

Obviously, having to take of myself completely was new. But living with people in close proximity was not. Sharing a room certainly was not. For my next internship, I'll be living at the research station with everyone else, most likely in a dorm/cabin setting. Definitely not new. And on boats, when you have lots of people in a small amount of space? Piece of cake.

I went to a sleep-away summer camp every summer for 12 years. For 9 of those I was a camper, meaning a shared EVERYTHING with anywhere between 2-12 other girls. Everything. We all slept in a single roomed cabin, ate at the same table, did all our activities together. We changed in front of each other and even showered in front of each other. We had to teach ourselves how to maintain our own spaces and how to be "by ourselves" in a crowded room.

So I'm used to living with other people. I'm especially used to living with people who I might not particularly like. Such is usually the case when many people (particularly girls) are forced to spend lots of time together. But after dealing with it in all the wrong ways growing up, I think I've taught myself how to deal with conflicting personalities in a way that won't cause serious drama and blowouts. Which is key when the people you live with are also your co-workers, and it can be difficult to keep your home and work lives separate.

Teaching Swimming - Communication and Comfortable in the cold


Okay, so other than the complete comfort in the water and the swimming skills, teaching 5 year olds how to blow bubbles does not really have much to do with marine biology.

Except for a couple things, actually.

It's one thing to discover facts about animals, it's another to get those facts out into the world. You can do this in a few ways: write a science article about it in a science journal, so that other scientists can read of your discoveries. But then it's always a good thing to tell the public about it. And kids are our future and what not, so being able to relay serious information to kids in a way they'll understand and remember can be an essential skill to have.

Fortunately, this is a big part of being a swimming instructor, because we don't just teach strokes, we teach water safety. Live saving facts and skills that have the potential to save the kid's life in the future. Heavy stuff.

I've also spent a lot of time standing on a cold pool deck in nothing but a bathing suit and wetsuit, soaking wet and no towel in sight. So being wet and cold is something I am accustomed to. So is spending hours in frigid water.

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This is not to say that now you should go out and do these exact same things. I am sure that you have other experiences through which you have gained similar or different, but still equally as important, skills that will make you a better scientist. What I mean by this post is just to never think your experiences unimportant, because even things that have absolutely nothing to do with marine biology can help you be the best marine biologist you can be.

So bring it on Ocean, me and my bag of random experiences and random skills are ready for anything you can throw at us!

Speak Loud!

Your Weakest Link: Goodbye!

First, an anecdote: Back when The Weakest Link was a semi-popular show, my grandmother ended her answering machine message with a quick "Goodbye!". Now for those of you who don't know my grandmother, she kind of looked like the host of Weakest Link, and the "Goodbye" sounded a whole lot like the way she said it. So now, that catchphrase (is that the right word?) always reminds me of my grandmother.

But onto the business of this blog.

The well known but dreaded interview question: What is one of your weaknesses? Now most people automatically want to answer "Nothing, I have no weaknesses.", but obviously this is a very large lie. So one of your weaknesses is that you are a liar. Because everyone is flawed. And 9.99 times out of ten, that flaw will effect your work in one way or another. So sooner or later, your employer will discover your weakness. Might as well be upfront about it.

It's understandable to be wary of admitting to weakness. No one wants to admit that they might not be absolutely perfect for a particular job. But no one is perfect for a particular job. But once you can recognize your weaknesses, admit to them and accept them, it's finally time to learn from them and hopefully to move on from them.

How about an example?

One of my (many, many) weaknesses that come into play a lot in my work is my fear of ineptitude (Hey, that's a word!). I can't handle that people might think I am inept or stupid in anything I do. Sometimes it's little things in life, like people expecting me to know a classic movie or the lyrics to a song; but sometimes it's something important, like knowing the statistical test for data. And my least favourite thing to do (almost) of all time, is say "I don't know". Those words are possibly as bad for me as "I was wrong" (which are almost admitting to the same thing). In the past, my fear of seeming inept has kept me from seeking help, and that has left me with some not-so-great results.

So eventually I grew up, and I realized, admitted to and accepted my weakness. Now it's time to fix it. I try to say "I don't know" more, and then try not to be relieved when my supervisors don't care that I don't know. Also, I've learned about a little thing called "research using the internet", which allows me to quickly learn things that I don't understand. Because as I have learned, self teaching and discovery can be rather rewarding!

I'm also trying to use my peer's knowledge more and more. Although I am inwardly fiercely competitive (another flaw), I am trying to realize that in the same way that I love teaching others (and believe I do so without condescension) other people might feel the same way. And that I won't feel or look stupid to them.

It's a process, just like everything else. And of course I'm also trying to work through all my many other work weaknesses.

So what can you take from all this? Work through yourself and figure out your weaknesses. Or just one to start. Realize them, accept them then it's time to work them out. And remember in an interview to be honest, but put a spin on it so that your potential employer/ supervisor knows that you are working out how to make yourself better.

Interviewer: What is one of your weaknesses?

Me: I have a strong desire to always appear as knowledgeable as people expect me to be, even when I don't know what they expect me to know. In the past this has stopped me from being comfortable with asking for help, but now I am working on being better at asking for clarification and admitting when I don't know how to do something.

Speak Loud!

More About Me!

I just realized that I have been spouting out all this "wisdom" about becoming a marine biologist, without answering the question "What makes you qualified to tell me anything?"

The answer: I'm not. But I have been around the block at least once so far. And that makes me think I know a little something about nothing.

But just in case, here's a little more about me.

I am a recent graduate of the University of Manitoba. I have a Bachelors of Science in Biological Sciences with a focus in Evolution and Biodiversity. My degree is an honours degree and I wrote my thesis on sex-biased parasitism in Richardson's ground squirrels. It's not nearly as fancy as it may sound.

I was never told what it would take to be a marine biologist until my 2nd/3rd year of University. Oh, and it only took me 3 years to do my 4 year degree because my high school let me take my 1st year courses with them. So I was pretty much oblivious until it was almost too late.

Instead of working in a lab or offering my services to field work, I worked as a swimming instructor, camp counsellor and Museum Youth Programs worker. Instead of burying myself in the books in order to get all the A+'s, I had fun with friends and learned to swing dance.

So I am a little bit ahead and a little bit behind. But this has given me the chance to put off Masters for a little bit and an excellent opportunity to ask for a lot of help and advice from grad students and profs alike.

As for my future, it's a little blurry and a little clear. the exact details are blurry, I'm not sure when I'm getting my Masters or if I'll need a PhD (but "Dr." in front of my name is pretty tempting) but I do know what I want to research for the rest of my life (or as long as I possibly can).

And that is acoustics in blue whales. Particularly infrasonic communication in blue whales. infrasound is low frequency sound (less that 20 Hz) and for the most part only large animals can produce it vocally. Like blue whales. We know they make it but we don't know why or when and THAT"S what I want to find out.

So now my entire life is focused around getting to that goal. This summer I am working on marine mammal databases for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as well as a field assistant for a grad student working on infrasound in peacocks (who produce it with their train rather than vocally). One step closer....

Speak Loud!

It started with a dream....

No one seems to agree on when I wanted to become a marine biologist. My dad says it was when I was three and I saw a scuba diver feeding sharks and fish at an aquarium in Disney World. My mom might say it was when I was seven and made a diorama of a clown fish. I remember when I was eleven and read A Ring of Endless Light by Madeline L'Engle which is about a marine biologist and decided I wanted to work with dolphins. Or maybe I read it because I wanted to work with dolphins. Who knows.

All I know is that for longer than I can remember, I wanted to be a marine biologist. Sure, I thought about becoming a doctor, and yes I considered going into teaching, but through it all, marine biology has won out.

When you are a kid, "marine biology" meant playing with dolphins. When you are in middle school, it meant training dolphins. In high school, it means researching dolphins while scuba diving.

University dashes all those into pieces.

Now it means field work you can't afford, followed by hours and hours or sitting in front of a computer begging for money and crunching numbers, being rejected over and over for publishing and when you are finally accepted, you are torn apart limb from limb and scrutinized. Then you are published. Then repeat.

I still want it. So badly.

But nobody told me what I needed to do in order to be a marine biologist. So I wasted my high school away with extra circular activities and fun. And now, I am just trying to make my dream come true the hard way.

Join me in my adventures!