It's amazing how when I get motivated to really DO things, how stumbling blocks get thrown out. It can be unnerving, but these song lyrics popped into my head. Looking for a video to further cheer me up, and I found this gem. I Really Needed THIS!



Note that my strong place will never be listening to Matthew Wilder's "Break My Stride". My mom was driving on the FM2234, listening and singing along to this song on the radio. She had JUST gotten past these lyrics:

Ain't nothin' gonna to break my stride
Nobody's gonna slow me down, oh-no
I got to keep on movin'
Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride
I'm running and I won't touch ground
Oh-no, I got to keep on movin'

And that's when she lost control on a curve by the salt mine, and wound up in the ditch! She was okay, and I don't recall there being much damage to the car. DOH!

It was there that I met the second most influential person in my life, Dr. Riley Nelson. Riley taught a freshman field course that was required for all biology majors. I will always remember his first words that changed the course of my life. We were out on a tour of Brackenridge Preserve and he had asked what we wanted to study as biologists. My general response was marine mammals.

"Marine mammals? Thirty species, tops. Insects, now there's diversity! Over 30,000 known species of Coleoptera (Beetles) alone."

We were hooked by a spiel I later realized was probably well rehearsed and greatly used by this dedicated entomologist and teacher.

Without Riley's support, I could not have traveled to Costa Rica for a once in a lifetime opportunity. For a month I lived in a remote location on a river between the mangroves and the rainforest, researching parasitism in Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths). Riley also assisted me in obtaining employment with the City of Austin's Environmental Resource Management Division as an aquatic taxonomist and field technician for the surface water monitoring team.

Riley once said that we have three choices:

"You can live in an ivory tower and pretend nothing is wrong; you can throw our hands up in the air and say there is nothing we can do to change things; or you can try to change what you can, however little that may be".

Through the guidance of Riley and my father, I have chosen the last.

I find it difficult to describe my journey through life without mentioning two influential people. Certainly my father was the first. Despite living in the very urban setting of Houston, he made certain our family experienced nature firsthand. We took summer vacations to settings such as Colorado, Arkansas, and Tennessee. I remember waiting impatiently on the size of a freezing mountain road, while my father followed an elk down a snow-covered slope. When he returned half an hour later, he was wet and out of breath, yet energized by his experience. Unfortunately, I was too young at the the time to understand why he was so thrilled.

Once we nearly lost our travel trailer off a steep incline high in the Ozarks. The grade was too much for our old truck to handle the weight, and we were stuck in a precarious spot. Luckily, some strangers came to our rescue. We made it to the top safely and saw one of the most incredible views of our lives. I also still remember the serenity of driving through a different mountain range early one morning, the dawn bringing just enough light to understand why these were called the Smoky Mountains.

My father also instilled in me the value of charity and the importance of volunteerism. As a member of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, he would often prepare care packages and deliver Christmas trees and presents to less fortunate families in our parish. the highlight of the year was our church bazaar when he would create and set up a game booth. I considered it a great privilege (and a lot of fun) to work the booth with him.

As I floundered through my twenties, briefly attending Texas A & M to study journalism, teaching in preschools, and waiting tables, my father was always there for me. He supported my decision to move to Austin. I had visited Austin and loved the green space. At the same time, I thought it would be great to finish college at the University of Texas.