The beach is quiet except for the chilling sound of the crashing waves as the ambiance fills the crisp salty air. Its dawn and the sky becomes shades of light blue and purple. I rub my eyes and look at my watch. It’s 6:04 am. I begin to walk towards to the fortress of carefully assembled rocks in the distance. As I march over, I listen to a flock of gulls fly overhead but I’m to busy scanning the beach for evidence of mole crabs to look up. I reach the exposed rocks. Many are disguised under clumps of green algae and densely packed mussel beds. I take a closer look and notice hundreds of tiny black snails filling all the empty space on the rocks. I begin to climb over them carefully as I make my way to the deeper pools of water. I come to a stop and stare at the water’s surface but I can barely make out anything through the vivid reflections of the sky. Slowly as the tides create ripples shifting the water, I begin to make out the colors of the radiant green anemones and the bright orange sea stars. The longer I stare the more I notice. In the bushes of red algae, I see small blue-banded hermit crabs carrying a variety of stolen snail shells on their backs and what seems like thousands of bobbing skeleton shrimp no longer than a centimeter. I begin to scan the densely packed blades of surf grass and notice a kelp crab sitting very still underneath a few the sharp green blades. As I get closer it begins to crawl away. I reach in and shift a few of the blades when I notice a spot of vivid orange. I quickly reach in ignoring the cold water and bring it towards the surface in the palm of my hand. What seems like a small orange booger slowly begins to take shape. It’s a nudibranch. It crawls on the palm of my hand scanning it’s surroundings with it’s two front tentacles. The cirata are orange with a white strike along each protrusion. After I get a long and satisfying look, I place the little slug like creature back into the water. I turn up and look at the sky now filled with brighter shades of blue and feel the cold refreshing wind as it alerts my senses. I very steadily raise my arms out and a rush of air fills my sleeves sending a chill down my spine. I close my eyes. I am where I need to be.
One of the earliest memories I can recall is of me playing with small little plastic toys in the shapes of whales, seals, octopuses, sea turtles, and even sea stars during every bath. I was obsessed with sea life. I remember taking my little figurines with me everywhere (I can only imagine the handful I was for my parents). I have this very vivid memory from when I was either 4 or 5. I was at a family party and some other kid took my little toy fish. He never gave it back and I can still feel the tears rolling uncontrollably down my face as sat in my mothers lap crying for my “fishy” back.
Fast forwards to 5th grade (sometime between 2008 and 2009). One day my teacher brought in her husband who had been working with the team that was sending a remote controlled submersible known as the Alvin into the depths of the ocean. To be honest, I don’t remember if he was a marine scientist or an engineer but I was left in awe when he showed us footage of the submersible being deployed. Even though I didn’t really understand what I was looking at, I had decided that I was going to be a Marine Biologist. That night I was thrilled to share everything I had learned at school but when I told my parents that I wanted to be a Marine biologists I was discouraged almost immediately. At least from what I remember, my father lectured me about how I needed to get a job like a Doctor or a Lawyer. I was going to make no money as Marine biologist.
My father has always wanted the best for me. He taught me how to work hard, how to respect others, and to always be the best that I can be. Regardless of his well intent, I unfortunately grew up thinking that anything related to life sciences was not an career option. As I grew older, I stopped thinking about sea life and the ocean. I went through all of high school not even once considering any kind of biological sciences major when applying to universities. I started college at UC Davis in the fall of 2016 as a Political Sciences major but switched out of it within the first 2 weeks of school. I struggled through my first two years because I didn’t feel like I was studying something I was passionate about.
After a series of difficult experiences, new friendships, and constant moments of contemplation, I made the decision to switch into the Marine and Coastal Sciences major. It took me half a year to build up the courage and tell my Mother what I had decided to do (I still have not explicitly told my father). She supported me and my decision but I know that they both would rather I focus my time on a career path that would, in their understanding, make me a lot of money. I can’t blame them. The values they have were shaped by the financial hardships that have dealt with their entire life. Still, its painful to think that they will never really understand what it is that I love about the ocean.
So now that I have given a brief picture of my life story, I want to explain how the name of this blog relates to my experiences. The definition of undercurrent is as follows:
UN·DER·CUR·RENT
NOUN
1. A SUBSURFACE CURRENT THAT FLOWS IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO THE SURFACE CURRENT.
Undercurrents flow discretely in the opposite direction of the surface currents the same way that I feel I am taking my life in the opposite direction than what my parents would choose for me. As dramatic as it may sound, I feel like I am completely taking my life in a direction that most of my family sees as “unworthy” of my time and effort. But after having spent the last 12 months pursuing this degree, I have found myself more confident and excited as ever. I am all the more certain about my decision which has only been possible because of the struggles I have had to overcome.
The purpose of this blog isn’t to talk about my struggles. I want to share my experiences as an undergrad, talk about subjects I find fascinating, and make important topics in marine science more accessible. By doing this I hope not only expand my understanding of the ocean and the many creatures living both beneath the waves and on the coasts but be able break down complicated ideas into a more digestible discussion. So feel free to sit down, drink some warm tea (or any beverage of your choice), and join me in exploring the wonderful system that is the ocean.
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The Undercurrent 