To be an adult.
To children, being an adulthood is something that is going to be so cool. Everyone has thought it. "When I'm an adult I'm gonna..."
- "eat what I want"
- "go to bed when I want"
- "do whatever I want to do"
- "insert your's here"
Everyone had there own form of adulthood dreams. It was something we were built up to look forward to. "What are you going to be when you grow up" is a question every child deals with, and if not on a daily basis. I can remember that the first profession I wanted to do was be a doctor, but then I realized what that actually entailed and I swept that notion under the carpet. In third grade, our Girl Scout troop went to Space Camp and after that I dreamed of being an astronaut. I'm not sure when that dream ended, but it did. Then, there was the dream of Marine Biology.
"I love the beach. I love the ocean. I love marine life. Why not? Wait, you mean there is math involved?! Well, forget that! I'll never be able to do that. I'm terrible at math!"
...and there that dream died and by my own hand none the less.We are so excited to become an adult but then when we reach adulthood we feel as if we have been conned into some terrible lie. Adulthood is supposed to be fun. We're supposed to be able to go to bed late. Eat whatever or whenever we want. Buy a "toy" if we want to. But that's not how it works. We have to go to bed at a reasonable time for school/work. We can't eat anything we want because we'll get fat and sick. We can't buy that "toy" because we're on a budget.
Once we enter into that glorious time of adulthood, all we want to do is sit back and relax but realistically all we get to do is pay the bills, go to work, pick out classes, fill out financial aid/loan forms, and (dare I say it) clean the house.
To be fair, adulthood isn't all bad. Yes we do have to pay bills, and yes we do have to go to work, but the things we can do are limitless. We can drive. We can travel. We can buy those cool things off the t.v. (everyone does that, right?); we really can do whatever our heart desires, as long as it doesn't break state or federal laws..
The past three weeks have been brutal to my psyche. With taking Biology, Physics, and French, it was too much new material for me to grasp in such a short time. So, I had to make the decision to let Physics go and take it at a more opportune time. As Chris told me as I reached for advice, "Good grades are more important than finishing on time." Do you see why I love this man?! He keeps me sane and supports me through everything. I would be lost and in a padded room without him.
My heart has always been and always will be with the ocean. It's a part of me.
This past Friday, Chris and I went to a lecture series at the Georgia Aquarium called Science on Tap. This month was on Whale Sharks so I just had to go. Dr. Guy Harvey was speaking and showing the beginnings of a documentary that he is working on and I realized something. As I watched the footage of Whale Sharks and Sailfish and my eyes began to water, I realized this is it. This is what it's all about. This is why I'm enduring the academic torture. Dropping my Physics course was hard on my pride, but if it just means an extra step to work with these beauties and save them from harms way, dammit I will gladly take that extra step.
Do NOT walk away from your dreams. Stick with them. Work through the storms and obstacles. If your dream doesn't require your hands to get dirty, ask yourself, is it really worth your time?
- Ashley
