Never Working a Day in My Life

I spent most of my early 20s not knowing what I wanted to do with my life – I lost track of how many times I changed my major! After graduating, I moved to Japan and spent a couple of years teaching English and exploring SE Asia. I knew I eventually wanted to go to graduate school, but I also knew that I didn’t want to continue in the field in which I’d (finally) majored. In a twist no one who knew me saw coming, I decided to get a PhD in biology. Two writers played a part in my making this decision: E.O. Wilson and Edward Abbey.

E.O. Wilson, who was a professor at Harvard, wrote a book in 1992 called The Diversity of Life, in which he celebrates the diversity of life on Earth, explains the role of healthy ecosystems in providing important services (clean air, clean water, food, nutrient cycling, etc.), and describes the ways in which human activities are threatening these ecosystems. As a person who spent much of her childhood exploring the outdoors and who loved nature, I felt called to a field where I hoped to make a difference. The stumbling block? I hadn’t taken science classes as an undergraduate and couldn’t really see myself as a scientist. Enter Edward Abbey.

My love for Edward Abbey began when I read The Monkey Wrench Gang in high school and deepened when I discovered his many collections of essays. One essay in particular, published in The Journey Home: Some Words in Defense of the American West, reassured me that there could be a place for me in the world of science. Here’s the passage that spoke to me: “The moral I labor toward is that a landscape as splendid as that of the Colorado Plateau can best be understood and given human significance by poets who have their feet planted in concrete — concrete data — and by scientists whose heads and hearts have not lost the capacity for wonder.”

So, I took the plunge. I applied to graduate programs, moved back to the States, and 5 years later earned my PhD in marine biology.

My dad, who I’m sure despaired of my ever settling on a career path, often said while I was growing up, “if you have a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I may have reflected on that when I was waking up at 3am to head to my field sites or working late into the night analyzing data or studying for my qualifying exams. I was working harder than I ever had in my life! But it was wonderful. I remember one morning in particular: I had hiked out to my field site in the dark and, just as the sun was rising, a whale surfaced so close to shore I could hear the ‘whoosh’ of its breathing. I was so delighted I laughed out loud and marveled that I was actually getting paid (not much, but enough!) to be there. My dad was so right.

Jonathan and others have written about the importance of purpose in our lives, and I’m grateful that my work has been so closely aligned with what’s important to me. I don’t know what aspects of my work life I’ll bring forward when I retire, but I suspect not many. It strikes me that contemplating what I’ll do in retirement mirrors my experience of choosing a major. There are a number of paths in front of me, equally interesting, and I’m not sure which one to choose. If history repeats itself, I can look forward to skipping from path to path for some time, and that’s just fine. After all, nonlinear journeys are often the most interesting!