For a while I was thinking of being a wildlife biologist. Right now I'm 18, about to start college majoring in wildlife ecology at the Univ. of Maine, and I'm in the honors college.
But I'm still so unsure. I feel like there are so many more people who are so passionate about animals. I think I am, too, but maybe not as much?
I have a deep respect for all life on this planet. Like in one of my classes someone caught a frog and tadpoles and the class kept them as pets. I asked if I could keep all of them, because I intend to release them into the wild, and she agreed. Plenty of people asked if they could have them as pets, but I refused because I don't think wild animals should be held captive all their lives. I'm not easily repulsed; I was picking up live grasshoppers with my hands, and thought it was weird when a teacher helping me didn't want to come near them. I also participated avidly during dissections a lot in my anatomy class. I originally wanted to be a vet, but thought I was too squeamish for it. I don't like the thought of needles or thin objects breaking into skin and veins.
I volunteer at a Nature Center and tend to injured hawks and owls. I love all things natural, and hate artificiality. I care greatly about conservation and ecosystems. It kills me that the river I live nearby is so polluted. When I saw the first firefly in my backyard today, I was so thrilled, and then my second thought was about that news article I read that their numbers are slowly declining because of pesticides. When I turn the water faucet on, I think about conserving water, and then how lucky I am to have it, because I know there are people around the world who don't have access to fresh water. I'm a huge humanitarian, and I want to devote my life to helping this planet. I think my priority is the environment and animals, because I know that they need help, and don't have voices of their own (that can be understood by humans). But I do care about the well-being of people too.

I'm not sure exactly what kind of job my field of interest interprets into. I want to bring about the best positive impact I possibly could to help this planet. I'd prefer not to work in an office all day, or deal with people too often, but if that's what it takes I will do it. I don't know how much I care for research, because I've never been given that type of opportunity. I read that wildlife biologists do a lot of surveying of animal populations, and I don't know how skilled or interested I'd be in that. I am intelligent, inventive, innovative, and thoughtful, and I could probably succeed in many fields. But which one would I do best in, and which reflects my goals the most? Lately I feel like conservation would be better for me, or that maybe there is something else out there that would be even better.
In whatever case, what should my major be, and how high of a degree would I have to get?

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