Under the influence

I’m ever so very late with all my #blogbosswinterblogchallenge Time to play catch up.

I like to think that I am not easily influenced. I pride myself on getting through school without falling victim to peer pressure and I always try to remember that all people are people, so though I admire and respect many people, I avoid hero worship. Soooo… This challenge has taken me a while to get my head around.

I realised, after much thought and unexpected reflection on where I am in life right now, that despite everything that came to pass between us, my dad is still one of the biggest influences in my life. I was always a daddy’s girl and I really did worship my father when I was a child. He was a game ranger and he took me everywhere. Every day was a lesson in nature, in conservation, in science. All I wanted to be when I grew up, was a game ranger like dad. I think I’d even have been happy in the khaki and I KNOW I wanted the Beretta.

Full circle

I grew up and my goals and dreams changed. I wanted to be a psychologist, a coroner, a teacher and eventually cycled through to biologist. Do you see Daddy’s influence? The biologist dream didn’t pan out and I ended up studying Psychology after all. And then I sorta fell into my job. I enforce animal trade policies. I’ve had to dig up every single lesson my dad ever taught me. I’ve had to dig up everything I knew as a toddler, but forgot ages ago. I can recognise snake, fish and bird species I never thought I’d get the hang of. And I love it. (It breaks my heart on the daily, but I make a difference)

I’m good at my job, because of my dad’s influence. He taught me to love nature, respect life and protect it, even if I don’t understand it. I ended up returning to my original “one day when I’m big”, because dad’s influence was always there.