First week of my last class ever

 Ecology [ih-kol-uh-jee] - the study of relationships and interactions between organisms and their environment, including both abiotic and biotic factors
This is my second class for this summer and my last class EVER at the Sea Lab.  Let us pause for a moment of silence....

Mourning: Over.  This is my last month on this island (maybe ever in my life), so I'm going to enjoy it all the way through! Are you with me?! Of course you are! Let the last-days-on-the-island-kind-of-partying commence:  fish and biology and beaches all around!!

Monday: First Day of Class! Woo!  Well it's a rainy day, so we lecture all day. No field trip to the marsh, as planned=bummer.  Then Tuesday, more lecture, AND it was a bunch of math=bummer.   Then Thursday lecture is graphs that I don't understand=bummer. (The last time I didn't understand what I was learning was Organic Chemistry 2 years ago and before then, Long-Division in 2nd grade... It doesn't happen very often and I don't like it.)  What is this class?? I mean, I know it's awesome because it's related to the ocean, but it's hard to appreciate its awesomeness when it's covered by me reading and analyzing an average of 17.667 pages every night for homework and learning differential equations. I mean, I know this is crazy, but I expected to learn about fishies and fun things like that.  Nonetheless, I will love this class- I'm pretty determined to do so. In fact, I'm super looking forward to our field trips coming up, which include an overnight trip in Panama City and a night trawl. (SO COOL!) 

We already had Marsh field trips yesterday and today. And I have so much experience with the deathly juncus that I feel so much more prepared than practically everyone in the world when it comes to marshes.  Marsh days don't even phase me-- they're just another day on Nature's elliptical.  As in, when you take a step, the muddy sediment pulls you into the Earth halfway up your thigh only for you to take another step and have to repeat the process hoping that this next step won't take your whole body into its muddy depths.  

^^So you can see what a good time marshes can be!

I've learned two things this week:
1) I don't want to be an ecologist.
2) I don't want to work in marshes my whole life.
Scratch that. I knew about #2.  I learned one thing this week and was reassured of one thing this week.

Ecology [ih-kol-uh-jee]: I'm not a fan, but I love it. No, I won't spend my whole life in it, but it's definitely important to learn.  And I enjoy learning, so it's been a good week and will be a great month.  
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What's coming up:
Tomorrow I'm going to visit civilization (aka Mobile), and I'm pretty pumped.  We're just going to go walking around and breath in the fresh civilized air, shop a bit, and waste the weekend away. It's going to be great!