Animals

Lola the lamb. Diego the snake. Jack the Dog. Nutmeg the rabbit. And a Bearded Dragon named Zigzag.

No, these aren’t weird titles for kids books.

These are actually some of my greatest teachers.

In my life, in addition to those named above, I’ve had as pets: a ball python, a fire bellied frog, a hedgehog, three birds, countless hamsters, 22 quails, several cats, chickens, a seahorse, ducks, caterpillars, rabbits, and a number of anoles.

But why have I grown up with such a diverse cast? Was I an animal in a past life and that’s why I feel close to them? Do I just enjoy the prospect of unspoken understanding, interpreting the complex, and actually succeeding? For many reasons, my connection and experiences with these animals have been a major part of shaping who I am today.

Nothing teaches patience like trying to catch 22 rogue quail in your backyard. I incubated 32 quail eggs and every day I dedicated my afternoons to watching the eggs, checking the water levels, and making sure the temperature was okay. In the days leading up to the expected hatch date, I sat there, face centimeters away from the glass, talking to them and waiting for any signs of movement. Once they did hatch, taking care of them wasn’t easy and I had to learn a lot about how they acted. I have taken these traits of patience and adaptability into other areas of my life. For example, in crew, creating the ideal “set” in a boat takes eight people working in perfect unison and this is rarely the case. Learning how to love crew for what it is took time.

I’ve perhaps learned more about trust from my foster lamb, Lola, than I have from humans. She came from a farm that we later learned abused (and abuses) its animals and experiences high death rates of baby animals. Lola was really sick and needed constant attention 24 hours a day. Because of her previous bad experiences with humans, letting herself be vulnerable with me was significant to me. I had to trust that it was worth all of the effort and if I gave her my attention, she would get better. This ability to build trust has been important in my life in other areas, whether it be animals, plants, or working with my peers in Peer Connections. Though some of the students in Peer Connections or challenges communicating, I’ve been able to create trust and form real friendships through the things I learned from Lola: empathy, openness, and attentive care.

And trying to maintain a saltwater aquarium for my seahorse taught me a lot about science. Saltwater aquariums are especially difficult because they involve simulating a large and complicated ecosphere. The levels of alkanes, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, salinity, and pH are extremely important and must be maintained by an established community of nitrifying bacteria that will detoxify the water. Although the process of creating this ecosystem took many months, I was also able to connect with my dad. I learned from him how to take something you are passionate about and apply it in a practical way.

Some lessons I have had to learn the hard way. I was heartbroken when my bird Jules died by hand, for example, or when I had to watch my dad cut the heads off chickens I had raised. And even though at the time these seemed like the worst thing that could happen, learning how to grieve and being able to honor life after it’s gone has been valuable. Raising animals exposed me to quantitative things like science and animal husbandry, but also qualitative things such as intuition and communication. All my interactions with my animals have been transformative in my development and understanding of myself and society.