Red Chain

Red Chain

“They’re coming for you.” and “Nobody’s coming for you.” can either be terrifying or reassuring depending on the context.

For any very nerdy kids out there who want to get into biology/ecology/zoology you are really going to want to put time into physical activity (as much as you are able to) and (if you’re in the Americas) Spanish.

Even at my undergrad volunteer level of experience there’s a lot of physical labor. There’s fairly obvious stuff like hiking for field work, but there’s a lot of it peppered throughout. Skinning animals efficiently will take more physical strength than you might expect if you’ve never done it before. Maintaining collections will involve repeated climbing of stools and ladders, sometimes carrying heavy or awkwardly shaped objects.

Second languages are valuable in general, but I’m singling out Spanish specifically because there is a VERY good chance that, in biology, you are going to be interacting with Spanish speakers. Latin America is full of biodiversity hotspots, and guess what?

Every country in green is a majority Spanish-speaking country.

If you don’t think you’re ever going to study in Latin America? Learn Spanish anyway. If you do any work in ecology, agriculture, or collections you’re going to be working with Spanish speakers. Spanish-speaking immigrants make up a large percentage of agricultural workers- they’re going to be who is familiar with the local wildlife and their habits, the behavior and health of livestock, the growing conditions of crops. In collections you’ll be using it because, again, Latin America is full of biodiversity hotspots.

I’m not saying this to scare anyone off, I’m saying this because this is stuff I neglected myself. In general I strongly believe anyone going into science should strive to be a well-rounded individual in general, but these specific skills are extremely important and things you WILL 100% encounter.

Me, sitting with a glass of champagne: oh but what if next year is gonna be even worse?

Horikoshi:

Hey @0t0nai ! I’m your secret santa. I had to post it earlier. :’3 @djdsecretsanta