Back when I was a kid, I absolutely loved the outdoors. My mom used to take me to the zoo where I was always fascinated by the animals every time. She also took me walking around the Mississippi river at North Regional Park. This happened practically every day. But after awhile I became a teenager and just didn't have time to enjoy the outdoors anymore. I became more into school and started playing video games, A LOT. Then during my middle school years I watched the "Al Gore" video on global warming. It totally changed my look on the world. I felt as if the world was dying.
In high school, I didn't really care for a job or anything during my freshman year. A woman named Ruth came to my Biology class and was offering a job. I was like "heck why not". It would be my second job and I love money. This job was the Mississippi River Green Team. At first I didn't think about it too much but soon when the job started I got more and more into it. I shared blood (mosquito bites), sweat, and fun with my fellow teammates. We had a special bond. It wasn't because we saw each other every day. It was because we were spending time with each other outdoors. The second year in the Green Team was fun too, and I created even more bonds. Most of these kids also went to my school but for some reason we just didn't really talk in school.
After my departure from the Green Team I became an intern at North Regional Park. It was like a whole circle because I used to come here all the time and now I'm actually working here. I worked with all kinds of groups and helped out the naturalists with their projects. Then I just noticing these people LOVE their jobs. I started comparing my job to other jobs and man I can tell you, I was truly lucky.
Now I'm in the Youth Conservation Corp, working on a project to restore Coldwater Springs. What's cool is that I am working with some of my past co-workers. I am also meeting tons of new people. They all have jobs that I might consider myself doing. It's a great work environment (minus the HOOOOOOT sun and buggggggy bites) and has great people. I'm excited and hope to see how this site actually turns out to be like.