Update

I have been lacking in updates, but not in adventures, as my travels have taken me to some glorious places in the last 6 months.

I started this blog many years ago as an escape from a life I wasn’t very happy with, to serve as a reminder to do something “for me” every day.

5 months ago, I took the leap. I’d already kind of taken it last year, by quitting my job, but then I got a new one, and repeated the entire cycle once more. I wasn’t doing what I wanted to be doing.

This year, February 15th 2016, I finally bit the bullet and tossed caution to the wind, becoming a full-time conservation student (after three years part-time). On top of my studies, I volunteer in conservation labs at least 2 days a week, I am writing a minor thesis, I am about to start a 5-week internship in Taipei, I am planning field research in Indonesia, I just joined the editorial committee for a national conservation publication, and I am lining up a potential PhD project for next year. I network extensively, and have been building meaningful relationships with conservators and researchers in my field. I’m learning Indonesian and joining a traditional Javanese orchestra to develop my appreciation of the musical instrument I am researching.

Despite my fears, I am sitting just under a wave of debt that threatens but never quite grows beyond what I can manage, as I am work part-time in a book-keeping position and simultaneously juggle credit cards, small loans, student benefits, tax returns, and a kind donation from my grandmother.

I am, for the first time ever, doing only what I want to be doing. I am so busy, every day, and I am so happy. I can’t say it’s easy, but it is just so wonderful that every day, everything I do is for me. I don’t have to carve out a half-hour in my day to feel satisfaction at having done something for me — my life is 100% about me. Not so bad for someone turning 33 next month!