I Tried Life-What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

“I TRIED LIFE!”

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When I Grow Up I want to TRY to Be a Marine Biologist!

What do you want to be when you grow up?  It’s the question we are often asked as kids when we are very little, we are asked this often throughout high school and college and sometimes people still continue to ask this question of us in our adult life!  Sometimes the answer to what we want to be when we grow up ends up being exactly what we said we wanted to be.  Other times the dreams we had as a child are changed and shaped by various experiences and we end up doing something completely different than what we thought we wanted to be when we “grew up”.  Other times we may hold on to those dreams of what we wanted to be and TRY to live them out at some other point in our life, sometimes as a career change, a hobby or as a one time experience.

I always enjoyed being in a helping role when I was younger and thought I was going to be a Pediatrician or a Marine Biologist when I “grew up”.  I enjoyed volunteering with the American Red Cross in a hospital setting and although I enjoyed the experience, I really started to take an interest in marine biology after getting the chance to visit Sea World multiple times as a child and teenager.  I wanted to be a marine biologist because I knew it meant I’d be living somewhere near the water and probably near a beach.  I wanted to help all the marine life and make sure all the fish and their little friends under the sea were healthy and thrived.  Unfortunately, I learned in high school that sciences (Chemistry, Biology & Marine Science) and math courses were not my forte.   I also have a tremendous discomfort of being touched by marine life, basically anything slimy to the touch or that tickles when it swims by.    

Even though I was born in California and had the chance to live on the island of Guam as a child.  I never formally learned how to swim, but as a kid living on an island, you had no choice but to learn to swim. This is where I truly believe my love of water and the appreciation of marine life began.  I love going to the aquariums and seeing the playful penguins, huge whales swim by as well as see the dolphins and sea lions perform.  I enjoy observing them in their natural habitats, admiring the scenery and learning about how they survive and thrive.

In TRYING Life, I recently decided it was time to move past the fear of interacting with the wonderful creatures of the sea and worrying that something would go wrong or that I might be uncomfortable…if only for a short amount of time.  My first attempt in TRYING this was to swim with the Sting Rays in Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman and then decided to TRY snorkeling with the sea life in Ocho Rios.  Both experiences were absolutely amazing and breathtaking, but the most AMAZING experience I TRIED at Discovery Cove in Florida included everything imaginable to anyone who has ever dreamed of or dreams of being a Marine Biologist.  This experience brought back all of the emotions, aspirations and dreams that I had as a child wanting to be a marine biologist.  My cup was full as I spent the day snorkeling, learning about and checking out the sea life first hand and just TRYING Life at Discovery Cove and having a first hand interactive dolphin experience!  

 

The most amazing part of this experience was learning about all parts of the dolphins, getting up close and personally touching the dolphins.  I then had the opportunity to give the dolphin a sign to give me a kiss & then go for a swim with the Dolphin from 13 feet of water to the shore.  This was one of the most amazing experiences that I can’t even TRY to put into words!  Remember, this is from a person who doesn’t like to touch any thing that is slippery and from someone who wasn’t sure if she really wanted to touch the dolphin, let alone go out into the deep water for a dolphin swim.  Could you imagine how nervous I was even contemplating swimming with a dolphin that was over 8FT long and weighed over 600 pounds.  But the thought in some way of fulfilling the childhood dream of what I wanted to TRY to be when I grew up kept filling my heart and soul and I TRIED LIFE by Swimming with the Dolphins! 

What did you dream that you wanted to be when you grew up?  Is there something else you still want to TRY in life?  Is there a goal that you have that you still want to TRY to accomplish?  Whatever your dreams and goals are, YOU CAN ACHIEVE them!  All you have to do is take the first step and TRY Life!

I want this blog to serve as a place to be a resource, recognize friends & businesses, share ideas, photos and stories of my journey in life as well as sharing the inspiring photos, fun and journeys of others!  I hope these will inspire EVERYONE to be able to say at the end of the day and at the end of life... 

“I TRIED LIFE!” 

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