Overview of my Passion

Ever since I was a little kid I knew I wanted to work with animals when I grew up.  I had a growing obsession that hasn't yet ended.  Since I was two years old, I begged my parents for every type of pet a kid could have.  I rode horses and learned about every breed of dog there is to know.  I kept my own encyclopedia of animal species and took delight in stumping my parents with quizzes on obscure animals. Every city, country, and continent we traveled to I dragged my parents to the local zoo.  How they put up with me, I don't know.  Anyway, to this day I find ways to surround me with animals.  Over the summer I did an internship at Happy Hollow Zoo, where I had the opportunity to work with animals I would never have thought of working with before.  When I volunteered there, I confirmed within myself that I really did want to work with animals.  It made me happy and look forward to getting up in the morning and going to work.
However certain I am that I want to work with animals, I have never been sure exactly what I wanted to do.  I have gone between veterinary sciences, zoology, environmentalism & conservation, and wildlife biology, documentation, and photography, and I am still uncertain which field I want to specialize in.  It has always been my dream to travel the world and observe wild animals, and I have always been more interested in wild animals than in domestic animals.  This means that even though veterinary science would be the most profitable or stable job out of the jobs listed above, I would prefer a job with wild animals.  They intrigue me due to the fact that their lives are not completely shaped by humans, and they are moving parts of nature and its beauty.  I don't mean to sound like a tree-hugger here, though I probably really am one, but there is mystery and beauty to be found in all parts of nature, and to me, animals are a huge aspect to the beauty of it.  This blog will probably end up being full of me saying things like this, along with interesting articles I find and my responses, or just my thoughts.  Overall I hope to share some of my love of nature and my hope for a future with animals with the rest of the world, or anyone who takes the time to read parts of the jumbled mess I call my mind. :)