I keep thinking about leaving tomorrow and it doesn’t seem real to me yet. I’m sure once we land everything is going to go by in a flash, but at least right now I am just waiting for it to hit me.

At the beginning of the year, I had no clue whether I was going to feel like the classes I was taking were a fit for me. For a while I had a “maybe this will be my thing” feeling. Second semester I could tell I was starting to settle on ecology, but ecology is a broad area of study. I am hoping that this course in Belize helps me to find direction. More so I haven’t yet had the opportunity to do field work. Up to now most of my biology experience has been in a guided lab setting. I am very excited to go outside and actually see what I have been reading about for months. I hope that I actually see the species I’ve been looking at as I completed each assignment and I hope that I can accurately identify them. I’m so excited for the time on the reef. I’ve always loved being in and around the ocean. Also I have been thinking that aquatic science might be an area I am especially interested in pursuing. I am a little bit nervous about blanking on all the information I’ve learned once we are in the field and I don’t have a book to reference. Hopefully I will gain some confidence in my knowledge of Belize as the trip progresses.

I have been to Hawaii before and have had the opportunity to snorkel there. I have also had the chance to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. Both experiences have taught me how different each reef system is and reminds me that this trip to Belize will be a new journey of its own.