Birdwatching

Go birdwatching.

The Western Scrub Jay is one of the few species of birds I saw on my birdwatching expedition.

Before I begin, I would like to say that I don’t mind my biology class. At least this semester. This semester we are dealing with animals and those kinds of organisms. We’re kind of doing things out of order now as far as labs go, so this past week we did a lab on animal behavior. We planned to observe local birds feeding as part of the experiment.

Leaning against a tree yards away from the bird feeder, my partner and I waited for the birds to show up. It was a nice day and I was glad to be outside. My partner and I ended up discussing many things as we waited. She lives down the hall from me, but I never really took the opportunity to talk to her other than in passing. She told me about her family and several anecdotes that followed. I thoroughly enjoyed the time… and the birds!

We saw so many beautiful birds. I can’t remember the names of the birds we saw, but one was magnificently blue and another gorgeously golden. Being out in nature was peaceful and so was talking to my partner. There is something so thrilling about spotting birds and noticing their natural tendencies - it’s like spying on someone!

Origami

Hide origami creatures in public places.

Nicholson Library, home to all sorts of animals.

Yesterday afternoon, after a very long day, my friends and I created several types of origami animals and hid them in various places throughout the library. As an afterthought, we added encouraging puns to them in the hopes that whoever found them would be cheered by the animals’ cuteness. It was fun weaving throughout the library’s bookshelves hiding things, especially when we ran into people we knew. I witnessed two people encounter the animals and was pleased to see them smile and hold on to it while they were studying instead of tossing it aside.

First (Personal) Pet

Buy a pet (and take care of it too).

Hello everyone, meet Dorian.

Today I went to the store and bought a fish. There were so many fish to choose from! I spent a while deliberating with my friends, but ultimately decided that whenever I have the opportunity to, I will buy an aquarium big enough for the many fish I admired in the store. In the meantime, I chose a beautiful (or should I say handsome?) green male halfmoon betta fish. The tank is smaller than I wanted for him, but we’ll see how the transition goes. I know it will be nice to have something animate around to talk to during late night studying. :)

Pescetarianism

Become a vegetarian.

This past Lenten season, I gave up meat. I thought Lent would be make becoming vegetarian convenient, particularly because the college cafeteria serves fish on Friday. At first it wasn’t a particularly enjoyable experience. Over time, I came to appreciate my body more because of the physical repercussions becoming vegetarian caused. Unfortunately, due to health reasons, I had to become pescetarian. I enjoy seafood immensely, so pescetarianism worked well for me. 

I was fortunate to have very supportive family and friends. They made accommodations whenever I came to eat with them and some even encouraged my habits by joining me. It inspired me to cook more often and to add to the list. 

Overall, I had a wonderful experience with becoming (for a time) a vegetarian. I would encourage everyone to at least try it for a week (health conditions permitting).