My Life

The new year always brings with it a sense of rejuvination. It is a time to reevaluate the life you've been living and compare it with the one you want to live. A time to reflect, and change... to consider life's big questions.

Being the 20 year old college student that I am, I should be invigorated right now. I should be excited to start this new chapter of my life that the next year will bring: after all, the next year will find me back in America.. and what a huge change that will be! It will also find me closer to graduation of college, a dream I have always had...

and there you have it. college. graduation. Two words that send both fear and pride into the heart of a college kid. Pride that they've come this far, that they've passed all those dumb Biology tests and can now move onto the real world. Fear that the real world will be too real for them, that they'll find a job they'll hate, or that they'll not find a job at all... and the biggest one of all: fear that they still won't know what the heck they will do with their lives.

Now, myself, I've always been one who could look at those people who still didn't know what they want towards the end of their college careers, and say, "At least I know what I want to do." However... after six months in a foreign country, and some realistic thinking on my part, I'm no longer so sure. And so, my big question this new years is: What am I going to do with my life?

For the last few days I've been kicking around the idea of working with domestic (such as dogs or cats) animals in some way, shape, or form after college. I've looked into becoming a guide dog trainer for seeing impaired people, or for hearing impaired people. I've also thought about becoming a general dog trainer, or perhaps a behavior consultant for pets. While all these ideas are a bit more realistic and attainable for me (after all, I've already had three years experience working with pets) they haven't given me that gut feeling of, "that would be so cool to do." That feeling that working there/in that field is e.x.a.c.t.l.y. where God wants me to be...

So, the search goes on, as I realize that every time I consider working with elephants in some way shape or form: my heart gives a little extra beat and I can read/peruse information for hours at a time, without being a bit bored. Or, if we take it in even a broader sense, everytime I look into internships or job listing on the American Zoo and Aquarium Association website, my heart also does a little bit of a dance at the thought that maybe I could work there someday.

There is a small problem with this idea however, a problem that sometimes causes me to doubt that this career path is something I should follow. And that is my physical form. I have problems with my shoulders, which doesn't allow me to have my hands above my head for a long (long being about 1 minute, maybe) period of time.... and because of this problem I also have very weak upper body/shoulder strength. Also, I don't tolerate extreme heat or cold very well... Working with elephants, or at any zoo in general is a very physically demanding job. One where you are expected to lift at least 50 lbs, and to work outside in any type of condition: rain, snow, sleet, hail... the list goes on.

But when I think about working with the animals... about helping to ensure that they have a proper diet, and proper living conditions, I get excited. When I think that I could maybe help to create better habitats for our captive wild animals, or that I could perhaps study the behavior of the captive animals, I get excited. Or when I think that maybe I could be that person presenting information about our animals to the guests at the zoo, that maybe I could help to spread the education about these great organisms that we share our world with... I get excited.

I think I just found out what to do with my life.

Now, all I have to do is to get experience (that's hard: can't get a job w/out experience, can't get experience without a job idea), graduate college, and eventually find a job... oh, and of course work on my physical fitness... guess i'll be hitting the gym a lot back at NDSU.

If I can volunteer at our zoo in North Dakota as a volunteer keeper for the year and a half I have left of college there, that will help a bunch. Maybe after college I can then get another internship or something from somewhere... for six months or so (or work full time and continue zoo volunteering) until I get enough education/experience to get myself some sort of job someplace....

I guess I just have to trust in God that if working in a zoo/with elephants is where He wants me, then it'll all work out. I feel much more peaceful about all this now than I have in the last several months.

Happy New Year everyone!