What have I gotten myself into??

i'm Marci- i'm changing. last post was like six months ago... oops. in that post i believe i acknowledged a change in my major? if not, i am majoring in wildlife and wildlands conservation. i repeat: wildlife and wildlands conservation. 70% of the time that i recite my long major name, people get a confused look and ask me to repeat myself. so for the 30% out there who didn't need a repeat, forgive me. as result of my chosen major i have had to take a variety of interesting classes, have befriended some very different people, picked up some new hobbies and have had some bizarre jobs.

who would have thought that there is a class titled "intro to soils" and that it is accompanied with a three hour lab? how about that class "living with plants"? the "properties of range land management"? it's really entertaining to get my class list the first week of school. sometimes i sit in class and look around and wonder... what on earth am i doing here? i am going to class to learn this? in no way am i complaining, just admiring the humor in my current position.

heating up a soil in my soils lab!

this is me disecting a shark in my biology lab.

because i am surrounded by a variety of hicks, rednecks and farmers i have had a shift in some of my opinions. the first day of my classes after i had switched my major provided me with the first test. camouflage. anyone i saw in it was automatically overlooked by me. i couldn't stand the stuff and was appalled that people wore it outside of activities that required it. they were probably a bit thrown off by a tan little blond showing up to "intro to soils" in heals and skinny jeans every day so i suppose we all had to make adjustments.

now I see camo and it catches my attention. i automatically wonder if the person wearing it is in my major and if they like camping and hunting. I still have not ever worn camo as a fashion statement nor have i purchased any. and I don't think I'm close to that stage either. phew. i think they have learned to accept my outbursts of high heals and crazy clothes as well.

one of the first people i met from my major was a hunting redneck from Montana. he asked me to take notes for him while he went to Montana to shoot an elk and this proved to be a little shocking. after agreeing to take notes for him and as he was walking away i yelled, "don't kill anything!" it was mostly a joke but partly not... i thought hunting was unnecessary and a little bit silly. i didn't understand the culture or the hype. after eight months of exposure, i have seen the light. actually I have tasted it. have you ever tasted elk? bah, it's fantastic. hunting no longer falls under the "weird" list of hobbies. not only did i find that many things that are hunted taste better than store bought meat but i that it has many other benefits. those are for another post, another day. now, finding someone who hunts actually gives them some bonus points in my book.

this is me with a fish i caught (okay i had a little help!)

another big BIG change is... drum roll... i like country music. it is a recent development. i listen to it voluntarily and sometimes even sing along. for those of you who have known me for a while know that this is pretty much a big deal.

a popular accessory in my major is a pocket knife. at first I thought it was crazy that all of these people surrounding me were carrying these weapons in their back pockets around at school. it wasn't until i was eating lunch with my friend Chris and he used his pocket knife to pick his teeth and then later watched as my friend Chelsea picked her nails with her pocket knife that i realize they do come in handy. when i got a free pocket knife from my employer i finally felt like i was a real member of my major.

i have had jobs (2 different ones) relating to my major this year and they have proven to be quite different. i believe i have talked about getting the first job in previous posts but not about what i actually did. the first job i worked two levels below ground and, for the first half of the semester, counted and measured preserved fish.

the second half of fall semester i sorted and counted insects. i measured fish and counted bugs to see the effect mosquito fish were having on chub. very exciting. lets just say i got a lot of confused looks when i was dressed up nice and talked to people about my job.

after fall semester my first employer ran out of funding so i had to find another job. this job was almost equally as easy to come by. i talked to a few professors in my major and after emailing a resume and a good recommendation i scored another job. this job was a little different in that i did a lot of errands for the professor. it was also two levels above ground instead of below. that was nice. for a little while i was cutting elk and deer teeth to age the animals. that was pretty cool. this also provided me with my summer job as well.

so all, do not fret. i am still me. i still plan on wearing high heals (or whatever else i want) to campus on a regular basis; i just might have some extra accessories like a pocket knife and an ipod full of country music. you want to find me? i practically reside in the MARB and WIDB. just listen for the faint clicking of heals and it will likely be me (lets just say you're more likely to find a girl in chacos than a girl in heals in those two buildings). i still laugh loud (possibly even more than before). in fact, i am still the smiling, random, hyper girl i've always been- just with a few more quirks than before.

overall i think this year just showed me a different way to live life and a different type of people. experiences this year have made me a more accepting person, and the people that surround me in my major have made me nicer and happier. this year has just brought out a side of me that has always been there. the outdoorsy-natury-hike a mountainy side. change has brought me closer to new people and has taught me many new skills. i highly recommend it.

i'm Marci and i'm changing.

oh, can i also add that i have also acquired an attraction to a man in cowboy boots and some good levis?