Not Part of The Plan

I’ve been asked many times in my life what my plan is for the future. I’m a person that hasn’t taken the typical route in life. I graduated from high school, moved onto college, and pursued a career in the field I chose which all sounds normal but how it’s all evolved seems far from normal. To me the more I examine my “plan” the more I realize I don’t have one and that it’s okay not to have one. I cringe when asked the question “what is your plan” because I feel I have to appease the person asking it by my answer, when in reality the answer is simple, I don’t have one and I’m okay with that.

The past few years I’ve embarked on journeys that I never could have imagined partaking in for my life. I’ve lived a life that I’ve chosen based off accepting opportunities as they present themselves instead of what I had imagined my plan to be as I’ve grown up. I never planned on pursuing education after my bachelor’s degree but by chance I’m about to graduate with a master’s degree and I wouldn’t change the experiences I’ve had on this journey for the world. I never had planned working with some of the most endangered birds in the world, or traveling to countries I had never heard of, or creating friends around the world but again I wouldn’t trade any of it for what I could have imagined. Some of my most influential moments in my life have happened the past few years because I have accepted this way of living. This live by opportunities and not by plans concept and it just hit me that I have done this. I have had an idea what I wanted my life to look like but how to accomplish that has always been a blur. I have goals and aspirations in the form of things like I want to be happy, I want to make a difference, and I want to always be learning but how to accomplish those I’m still working on and I feel that I always will be, and again I feel that’s okay.

I accepted the opportunity to partake in a field course this past summer in Borneo through Project Dragonfly’s Earth Expeditions course. A place I had only heard about and knew little of. I was told we would be studying primate conservation in the rainforests and the realities of what human actions have been on a worldwide level. My plan going into this course looked something like this. Travel abroad, learn about great apes which I know some about but am not passionate about, see another rainforest, be in a part of the world I know nothing about and have never planned on going to, and come back with some new stories. When in reality if I had accepted that plan I would have missed out on so much. I decided I needed to be open to what would come and more than ever to let go of this preconceived notion of a “plan” and just go with it. This trip more than any of the others I’ve been on was a design your adventure as you go type of course. It pushed me to be open to new ideas and concepts and to really embrace opportunities as they present themselves. From climbing to the tops of trees expecting to see really awesome wildlife but in reality just staring at dung beetles flinging themselves from branches to the forest floor, to watching an infant orangutan learn about its surroundings including us who have harmed them and learning by its movements, to having multiple scorpions (which I normally would have run away from) open my eyes to what is really around us and even though things can be dangerous they can also be really interesting, or to dancing by a river side with a bunch of women and realizing how simple happiness can be.

These are things that I could never have imagined or planned that I would learn but have helped to shape the person that I am becoming. I can only hope that I can somehow be an inspiration and teach these to others or help to inspire others to learn how I have learned. I feel the biggest impact this course has had on me is to follow the rules to stay safe, such as shake out your shoes before putting them on, but to be okay with not having everything figured out or planned. If I had lived by plan I would have missed out on some of the most beautiful and special moments that I have had.

 Lesson learned...shake out boots before stepping in...one of my many scorpion lessons

 Not part of the plan...watching wild orangutans....never did I imagine I'd be doing this

 Not part of the plan...while teaching lessons sometimes you deviate from lesson planned and go for how you can connect

Enjoy every moment and learn wherever you can part of the plan or not.

My trip to Guyana was an experience that I feel I will never forget. To me something that truly stood out was the connection between the people we met and their surrounding environments. Every individual we worked with had stories of being with the land and not only using what they need but giving back and caring for it. For so many people living in Guyana the land is what provides for them. In the hustle and bustle of every day life in the US I feel that most of us are missing these connections to nature. We talk about how to protect the environment and teach our kids to care but yet most individuals don't go and actually experience even what's in their back yard.
It was great to work with individuals who were so passionate about their surroundings. The crew at Iwokrama that know the trails and rivers so well that they can tell you where an individual hawk likes to hang out. The students of the wildlife club at such young ages can tell you what bird is calling like it's the easiest thing in the world. Auntie Paulette who loves and cares for her land so much that she wants to share with outsiders how to take care of the plants and the stories behind why the plants are used. The guides at the Surama eco-lodge who bent over backwards to show us things that make this place special. To the ladies utilizing every little part of the cassava plants that they can. To finally Milnor showing us how to make arrows and teaching us with such passion for the purpose of hunting. Everyone we met has this very special connection to the place they call home.
In my current life I am an outsider to the place I now call home. I've transplanted myself to this island that I feel is very special yet the lifelong connection is missing. I didn't grow up here and don't know everything there is to know. It's almost a struggle to truly know this place for me. The Hawaiians around me have the connection with their land. They believe that there is a personal responsibility to take care of the land. This kuleana (responsibility) is ingrained into the youth and lives within the individual. If you take care of the land it will take care of you. Those that truly have this connection view the land and nature as spiritual beings and respect them so much. It was really great to see that connection living on elsewhere in the world because I feel not many places still have that feeling and it's rare to see it.

 Auntie Paulette Alicock shares her knowledge and stories about her farm.

One of the guides from Iwokrama eco-lodge shares information about the Greenheart tree while on a hike.

 A student in the wildlife club after going on a bird hike

 Milnor teaching our group how to make arrows

Some of our students learning how to weave baskets from a native grass