I just finished a brand new book by ornithologist Caroline Van Hemert about a 4,000 mile trek through Alaska and Canada with her husband--in which they rowed, paddled, skied, and hiked from Bellingham, Washington to Kotzebue, Alaska above the Arctic Circle during the summer of 2012.
It was an extremely satisfying story of experiencing pristine wilderness, combating the elements, encountering a caribou migration, warding off a dangerous bear, almost getting swept away in a frigid river--and meeting warm and welcoming strangers along their journey.
I really appreciated her candid portrayal of her strong relationship with her husband, as well as her hopes and fears associated with a career in biology. When this journey took place, she had just finished her Ph.D. and was yearning to rekindle the wonder that had originally drawn her towards birds and the natural world.
What I really love is that she took the time to rediscover that wonder, and test the limits of her endurance and determination as a human being in the process. It was important to her to deeply examine what she wanted. I think perhaps some people, swept along in the race to reach certain milestones at a certain age, don't feel they can take that time.
I am really grateful that I have had the chance, in the last year, to think deeply about what I want to do next. After completing my M.S. degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation (which I absolutely loved), I have realized that my interests are strongly orienting towards evolutionary biology, and incorporating ideas I first began to explore as a post-undergraduate conducting fieldwork in the rainforests of Malaysian Borneo.
What challenges have I overcome as I embrace this paradigm shift? As an undergraduate and newly minted B.S., I was unsure of what I wanted, and moreover, what I was truly capable of. I grew in confidence during my M.S. degree, which enabled intellectual growth that would not have been possible without that newfound confidence.
I know what I want with much greater clarity--and I know I belong now, as a scientist. That is a powerful and empowering thing to feel, and proclaim.
And I am a stronger person for the journey it has taken to get here.
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