First day on the not job
Tonight I had my first training session to volunteer at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium.
WOW.
I got to sit around and learn about marine biology for two hours. I've seen all the stuff in the front but watching the moon jellies pulsate in their tanks was really a trip. They're absolutely beautiful, and it's very relaxing to watch them! Between being an inquisitive independent learner, watching a lot of Nature and science television, and reading books on marine fauna during my divemastering days, most of what I heard was a review. I met some people to go diving with. The girl sitting next to me told me I should consider studying marine biology in graduate school. I was surrounded by environmental science students and it was exciting to hear them talk about their studies. The aquarist described to me all the places she has lived, including Guam, while working. I'm so excited, I feel like I've shaken off the stupor of the last few months, like someone just tossed me into a freezing cold creek and I can feel every pore of my body. I think I am going to love volunteering there, but I've also got an idea in the back of my head to actually go to grad school and study this. I miss science, I miss learning. I do not want to sit in an office 10 hours a day for the rest of my life scrabbling to get ahead. The thought of climbing the ladder to being a creative director does not appeal to me, while the thought of devoting a lifetime to studying and preserving something I love very much DOES. Astrophysics didn't work for me; physics is a difficult subject, I was sitting in an office all day doing research, there is very little possibility of fieldwork, and the people I worked with were less than thrilling.
Amanda Rosenblum, Marine Biologist and Master Scuba Diver Trainer? Sounds really, really good.
WOW.
I got to sit around and learn about marine biology for two hours. I've seen all the stuff in the front but watching the moon jellies pulsate in their tanks was really a trip. They're absolutely beautiful, and it's very relaxing to watch them! Between being an inquisitive independent learner, watching a lot of Nature and science television, and reading books on marine fauna during my divemastering days, most of what I heard was a review. I met some people to go diving with. The girl sitting next to me told me I should consider studying marine biology in graduate school. I was surrounded by environmental science students and it was exciting to hear them talk about their studies. The aquarist described to me all the places she has lived, including Guam, while working. I'm so excited, I feel like I've shaken off the stupor of the last few months, like someone just tossed me into a freezing cold creek and I can feel every pore of my body. I think I am going to love volunteering there, but I've also got an idea in the back of my head to actually go to grad school and study this. I miss science, I miss learning. I do not want to sit in an office 10 hours a day for the rest of my life scrabbling to get ahead. The thought of climbing the ladder to being a creative director does not appeal to me, while the thought of devoting a lifetime to studying and preserving something I love very much DOES. Astrophysics didn't work for me; physics is a difficult subject, I was sitting in an office all day doing research, there is very little possibility of fieldwork, and the people I worked with were less than thrilling.
Amanda Rosenblum, Marine Biologist and Master Scuba Diver Trainer? Sounds really, really good.