The Cure for Anything #3: Family

The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea. Isak Dinesen

Blood – My personal addition. Not on the original quote list, I know, but stay with me – it fits! Many of you undoubtedly know that blood is very salty – that’s why hospitals give you saline, not fresh, water drips (so all of us quite literally have saltwater in our veins!) In this particular case though, I mean something a bit more symbolic when I say blood. I mean family. I have been blessed in this life with some amazing family members and close friends. Growing up, if you had asked my family what I would be when I grew up, you would have heard a lot of answers. An artist. A librarian. An author. A chef. A lawyer or politician (I might have gone through a sassy, argumentative phase. I might still be going through that phase depending on who you ask. But that’s beside the point currently 😉). Notice what’s not on that list? A scientist. As I said before, logical, scientific thinking does not come naturally to me. Literally everyone I knew (besides maybe my dad) was stunned when I said I wanted to pursue marine biology. I think some (looking at you Grandma!) are still stunned. They asked over and over if I was sure. If I knew what I was getting myself into. If I knew how far from home I’d be going. As far as moving to Hawaii, only my sister believed I could go through with that. I’m sure they secretly thought I would change my mind as soon as I got body slammed by all those difficult classes and come back home. But I didn’t change my mind. I just dug in and worked harder. And you know what? They came around. Even though they thought I was nuts, they supported me. They encouraged me. They helped me keep faith. And I will never forget that.