A move that changed my life

June 14th 2019, I landed at Monterey regional airport Monterey, California. This was the first day of what ended up being just over two years of my time living in California. As my plane came in over the bay i remember the feeling of awe that swept over me. I had never lived this close to the ocean before and i knew that the coming years were going to change my life forever. Waht I didn’t know was just how much.

I grew up on the east coast, living around six hours from the nearest beach. My family went on vacations a few times growing up but I never had a connection to the ocean, but I always loved being able to go to the beach and be in the water. The ocean was just a vacation to me. I was too young to understand its impacts and to naive to care, but the happiness and joy that came with being there always left me with positive thoughts.

Arriving in California however things were different. I was twenty-one at the time and I had a much greater respect for the ocean by this point. While still not being very well informed on just how crucial our oceans were to our every day life on Earth, I was much more aware of our impacts as a species to this ecosystem. The ocean became an enormous aspect of my life. I would excercise on the beach, I would go there to read or study, taking a day to just break away from the work I was doing at the time and just feel, free, was a common occurance.

Later that year a group of friends I had made decided that they were all going to get scuba certified together. At the time I didnt have the financial ability to do so myself but I loved hearing about their experiences and it was something that I knew I had to do. So the following fall after having saved up I took the plunge myself and that was when everything in my life changed.

I fell in love with the ocean on a whole new level. I was obsessed with being in the water and learning anything and everything I could about the oceans. The more I learned te more I realized just how much danger our oceans, and in turn, our world was in. I decided that I would become a Marine Biologist and that I would find ways to do my part in trying to help bring awareness and recover the health of our oceans. I’ve met many amazing people along the way, and have been continually inspired by others who share this same love and passion. This was the change that has redirected my life, and changed not only who I am, but how I live my life, and with plenty of stories to share from then to now, I look forward to doing just that.

Thank you for reading.

Until next time, Austin