24 year old intern

i'm on my 4th internship. you read that right...number 4. now that might seem extreme to you, and maybe it is, but i am not ashamed. i recently read an article called Why I Told My Daughter to Quit Her Job on huffington post. it was affirming to read. the author, a mother, basically told her daughter to quit her high paying science job because she hated it- so instead she got a job at a cupcake shop. she says that jobs are like college courses..they are stepping stones that teach us new things. so while somedays i'm ashamed to admit my status as an unpaid intern (and a weekend babysitter), i am mostly proud of myself for the huge steps of faith i have taken since graduation.
i studied zoology in college. cool, huh? i always wanted to be a zookeeper so that's what i pursued. it was an easy decision for me. but as a christian, i knew that i had to keep an open mind because God tends to call people places they wouldn't have imagined. to make a long story short: i thought i was going to be a missionary to India, God said no, i cried, and thus began my series of internships.

#1: carolina tiger rescue pittsboro, NC

•  i learned a lot about being a keeper. it's dirty, really dirty. i also learned a lot about NPOs. i learned about human/animal contact (some people are very conservative and think you should only touch an animal when absolutely acceptable; others are more liberal and think it's fine if it's done carefully). i learned the most about the deep lies in the animal entertainment industry...you know all those cute baby tigers you can pay to take a picture with? they are orphaned at 6 weeks, sedated heavily, and thrown away around 6 months. and the white ones? they're inbred b/c it's a recessive trait. the last white tiger seen in the wild was over 60 years ago.

#2: young life's trail west lodge  buena vista, CO

• this internship was a time for me to figure things out. it was a guest services/house keeping/ dining internship. it was paid and i got to live on site with the other interns. this was a very stretching time for me. i have never physically worked harder in my life. i grew a lot spiritually after i was done and had time to reflect, but hated it when i was there. i cried a lot, but i am so thankful for it now. God taught me a lot about my expectations for people and my interactions with them. but i lived in the rockies- i can't even begin to describe what i woke up to every morning. i went skiing every free weekend we had. i learned to knit some cool projects, something i love doing now. i miss colorado so much and hope to go back soon!

#3: here's life inner city  chicago, IL

• i decided i wanted to give full time ministry a chance. i got placed in inner city chicago, a city i had never been to. i packed up my car and moved to a place i knew no one. talk about leaps of faith! my year with HLIC was the most trying of them all, and i'm still wrestling through some of those things. luckily i was shown grace daily by my God and my staff team. i have fallen in love with this city, my church, my friends. i started volunteering at the aquarium just for fun. i saw shows on broadway, ate really good food, went to all the museums, and have found all the cool local spots. i love exploring the city- i could spend a life time just trying new restaurants here!

#4: shedd aquarium   chicago, IL

• my most recent endeavor! being an intern here is the complete opposite of CTR...everything is done so thoroughly and without exception. the animals here get restaurant quality food...we spend many hours just sorting through the fish picking out the bad ones. but being an a world class aquarium has taught me a lot about animal training. i really love animal behavior so i've gotten to ask some really talented people about why they do certain things. shedd's aquatic shows are more educational than say, sea world's, but i like that. i've learned a lot about operant conditioning and all that goes into training an animal. the days are long and hard, but i've enjoyed it so far. i have networked with some cool people and am now looking into population biology as a career. hopefully at the end of my internship in june i will have a full time job as a keeper at a zoo somewhere or at least be on a path towards my masters.

so here i am, a 24 year old intern. a lot of my friends are married and have full time jobs, but i'm just hanging out until God tells me otherwise. somedays i hate it, somedays i love it. i can't wait to look back on my life in 10 year and think about what cool adventures i have been on. jealous? you should be :)