Let's put
sleep issues aside for a moment (ahem!) and try and focus on the beauty around us, shall we?! Life has a funny way of coming full circle, using our past to influence our future. I was an environmental science major in college, and I had dreams of becoming a park ranger. Living in a little hut in a majestic National Park somewhere out west, studying the ecosystems and saving endangered species. After spending a summer on Cape Cod trying to protect shorebirds, and a stint in New Zealand studying an endangered skink (a member of the lizard family) species, I decided I wasn't cut out for conservation work. It can be incredibly tedious, and often it seems that no progress is being made. I was too impatient. I cut my losses, and fled to the city (Chicago, that is) after graduation to work in the non-profit world.
I occasionally have regrets when it comes to my choice of
majors...especially these days, when I am passionate about writing and
photography. I can't help but imagine what I could have done if I had
studied those in college. And yet, my background informs so much of
what I write about these days. Conservation, sustainability and the natural world continue to be my favorite subjects. Case in point- while in Michigan, I took an afternoon to check out the owls at the
Cranbrook Science Center's Bat Zone. The owls who call this place their home were all injured, and after being rehabilitated, were unable to be released into the wild. Aren't they extraordinarily majestic?
I often wonder how different my life would have been if I had followed my original plan. Perhaps I would be living in that hut right now, saving the world one species at a time And yet I am so thankful that my winding path has taken me here, to a place where I get to be a mom, a writer, a photographer, and an educator. Now, I pass along my knowledge to my boys, and it is my hope that I will infuse them with a great love of the natural world. I am quite certain it's the most important job I will ever have.
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Beautiful birds!!! You touch on something I've been thinking about/reading about lately. I believe that we are put on a path in our lives to learn and do the things in the order they are so that we can fulfill our purpose later on. You were set to do all the things you did in order to achieve something else great; using the skills you acquired. Perhaps what you are on your way doing now is the exact way it should have been. :)
Owls are fantastic, such a pity they couldn't be released back into the wild, I find it so sad seeing birds in cages. Sounds very interesting your two stints in conservation work, but also understandable your impatience, I often feel the same.
I want every one of these photos! I want them all-- just a forewarning--- LOVE, e