Eastern Promises

For so many years, I dreamt of moving out west. My friends and I would talk about it throughout high school and college. “I wanna move out West; I need to be in the mountains,” I would say.

When I was given the opportunity to make the move out west through my job offer at Bryce, I grabbed life by the horns, packed up my car, and did what I had wanted to do for a very long time. It's been the best move I've made in my entire life [so far].

I thought that it would make me happier, that I would feel more at home in the mountains. But as time went by, and as I explored more and more of Utah's majestic landscape, I began to realize that Florida was, is, and always will be my home.

It wasn't the mountains that I was attracted to, it was the active lifestyle that so many people achieve while living here. I never had that in Florida, and I totally blame myself. I blame myself for not having lived the active, outdoors lifestyle that I crave. I’ve wanted to get my scuba diver’s license for so long and just never got around to it. Same thing goes for sailing and free-diving...I just never did enough of it. I’ve never really taken advantage of Florida’s rich natural environment to the extent that I should've.

Now, I have that chance. Today I was offered what could be my dream job: Fish & Wildlife Natural Resource Intern at Biscayne National Park. Over 300 people applied, and 3 people got the job. I was one of the lucky few.

I came out west and gained some of the most practical and amazing work experience in my life. I've been trained in archaeology, invasive species control, wildlife monitoring, air/water quality testing, and even skiing! Now, I’m ready to bring my new skills home. I can't wait to be a part of the amazing conservation effort that the National Park Service makes for my home and it's future generations (my family included!!!). Not only that, but I want to be a part of the reason that high school and college kids start saying,

“I want to move out EAST!”