Being Myself

National Blog Posting Month – March 2014 – Self

Prompt – When or where do you feel most like yourself?

——

Ooh! Ooh! I know! Pick me!

I enjoy what I do, surely. Being a paleontologist-geologist-geochemist is great, and making new discoveries is super exciting. But the long winters in the lab get to me, and I start feeling pretty down as spring approaches.

When I feel at my best, and most like the me I want to be, is when I’m outside doing things. Being active. Swatting flies. Getting dirt under my nails. And sweating.

Yeah. I love being outside.

This is why I enjoy gardening so much. (Speaking of which, I really need to start some seeds.)

This is also what drew me into geology in the first place.

I love the long hours hiking in the middle of nowhere. I love standing at the top of a ridge and staring out over landscapes that few have ever seen. I love finding a shady place to have lunch and take a mid-day nap.

Field work is an unavoidable part of doing my science, and I love it.

I make time to go to the field every summer whether I have anything specific in mind to do or not. I need my field time. It’s when I rebuild myself. I come back from the field a better person, renewed, and slightly tanner. I feel great and enthusiastic about my profession. It’s the perfect way to feel just before jumping into teaching introductory geology. It comes across to my students, and they get excited too.

I love being outdoors, in the field or in the garden. That’s when I feel most at peace with myself.