I reckon I'm headed to Brazil.

And here I am, again. Hey, everyone :-). Look at that cute grass up there.


I'm flying to Brazil on the 11th of May. Wanna know why? Ok. I'll share.

Once upon a time, in the fall of 2013, I was in my Developmental Psychology class just chillin. Waiting for class to start. But my professor (shout out to Dr. Frick!) hadn't shown up yet!

ENTER: Allison, the Teacher's Assistant

The TA for the class stood up and was like, "suuppppp." She then told us that Dr. Frick was gonna be late, so she was gonna present some of her own work until Dr. Frick arrived.

So, Allison presented a powerpoint about herself. Basically it was the-bomb.com. She talked about her career so far. She presented her thesis and spoke about some of her findings. And I was like, :-O. I responded to her presentation with the following email:

"Hey Allison!
Your presentation in Dr. Frick's class this morning inspired me for a number of reasons. I will list the reasons out to you:

- Animal movement/migration is just fascinating. The ant studies are not only hilarious (ants on stilts?)... but intriguing. I will say, whale/orca migration might be my favorite mystery.

-I have always been worried that my major would only allow me to work with humans. Dad has insisted that this wasn't so, but I'm worried that I won't be as qualified to work with monkeys or dolphins as a biology or zoology major would be. It was encouraging to hear your personal story of mixing biology and psychology together! However, what background in biochemistry do you have? I feel like I'm behind!

-I had a revelation during your presentation: Why would I need to work in a lab everyday!? My dad has worked in a lab for my whole life... I think I've had the idea of being in a lab stuck in my mind for too long. I would MUCH rather go out and watch what happens in real time. Why hadn't I thought of that before???!

- I think my dad began teaching me about natural selection while I was in my mother's womb. I have always been fascinated by evolution. I don't think I want to take on the pressure of following up my dad's work on oxytocin... at all. However, I'm still interested in how social behavior has been shaped by evolution. I want to find a question about the animal world and work to answer it. LIKE YOU'RE DOING.

- Speaking of finding a question... I liked hearing about how you didn't know what you would end up working on until later in your career. That calmed me down.

Basically, I just had to express myself and tell you how cool I think all of your life is. :-)
Also, if you really ever do need an RA... I would absolutely love to be a part of what you're doing. I do have research experience... during my sophomore year I worked with my professor at Zoo Atlanta investigating conservation promotion techniques. Also, this past summer, I was a TA for the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative in Dharamsala, India. My dad is SURE that this is not enough experience... :-/

AH! Sorry for the long email! I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

Leigh Anna Young!"

End Quote.

She replied. We talked. We met up. Discussed things. And I guess she just ended up needing an assistant for this summer. *raises hand* "MEMEMEMEME!!" And now, I'm going off with her and her team to help do the things I was so in awe with last semester.

I was nervous to send that email... But it certainly set something in motion.

yayayayayayayyayayayay. More details soon. Mainly cuz I still haven't told you what I'm doing in Brazil. My god, you're on the edge of your seat. Scoot back!

-LA