When I was in high school, I had a group terrarium assignment (I was probably 15 at the time), and I credit that project with igniting my passion for the environment. I’ve shared this reason with my friends and family and others who cared to ask, but one thing I always left out was that it was more than that. I wished I had kept a journal back then so that I could backtrack all my emotions and thoughts, but I focused on other things.
Along with inspiration from a Biology assignment was my rejection of playing for the volleyball team. Technically, I was still allowed to practice, but I wouldn’t play in games. Initially, I was embarrassed, but I grew out of it. And what came afterwards was my shift in focus on things that I found to be better at. I remember reading up on my school’s School-wide Learner Outcomes and focused on the 4th “E,” E= Environmentally Respectful. I asked teachers and students about what it means to be environmentally respectful at school and sought advice on how the school could be better at environmental efforts.
If it weren’t for being cut from the volleyball team, I don’t think I would have found my passion for working with plants and joining conservation efforts (Another reason– and historians might be able to dispute this– was that at the time, I wasn’t in a relationship with a girl that I had feelings for, and I really wanted to care for something).
Although my Biology assignment sparked my interest in the environment, it was rejection that pushed me.
And the crazy thing is that I don’t regret anything.
