For my 19th birthday, my parents took me on vacation to Florida. We were on the plane the air was crisp and cool but as soon as we landed in Orlando, I felt the hot air press up against my skin. The airport was single handedly one of the most beautiful airports that I have been through. There was a fountain in the middle, palm trees all around, and Disney items were everywhere. Little did I know that this trip was more impactful on my life than I ever could have imagined.
This was my first time going to Disney and I was 19 years old. At first it was a little weird being a young adult on a bus with other tourists heading to Disney World but once I saw the Walt Disney World sign I felt like a kid again. Wondering through those massive parks made me realize that I need to feel like a kid more often. Seeing the characters and meeting Ariel made me so happy and I said to my parents, “I miss being a kid, thank you for taking me here at this age instead of when I was younger. Because these memories will last a lifetime.” We hugged after that and I realized how grateful that I am for my parents and them giving me the opportunity to travel the world.
After the three days that we spent at Disney World, we went to go swim with the manatees at Crystal Springs. Being a marine biology major this was such an exciting experience. Putting on the cold stiff wet suit was very funny to see other people doing. People were jumping up and down trying to pull these wet suits up the full way, as they would a pair of new jeans. Once we were all suited up we got onto a boat to go to where the manatees were. Because it was summer there were not many manatees present in the waters but we did get to have an encounter with a few of them. One manatee even caught its breath right in front of my face which was scary but such a cool experience. After we swam with the manatees we went down to Saint Petersburg, Florida which was where the most amazing thing happened.
Once we were settled in our hotel room we went to the beach first, but here’s one thing about my family readers should know: they would live at the beach if they could. We spent a couple days at the beach and my parents were constantly sick of me asking them, “Can we go to Clearwater Marine Aquarium? It’s only a 30 minute drive? Please!” Finally after me constantly begging we went early on a Wednesday morning. We got to Clearwater Marine Aquarium sharply at 9:00 when they opened and we waited in line until it was finally time to go in. I was so excited to go see the facility that inspired me to become a marine biologist. The movies Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tail 2 were both filmed here and during our trip we even got to see some of the set and props that they used in the movies. Inside of the facility we saw the rehab center where they proved their motto: rescue, rehab, release. If an animal that they take in is not able to be released due to being too injured or arriving into the facility when they were too young, then they stay at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The animal that stays gets to be rehabilitated and their care and health is the aquarium workers main concern.
One animal that had to stay at Clearwater Marine Aquarium was the main reason I wanted to go, Winter, the dolphin who is a miracle in itself. When Winter was young she got her tail caught in a crab trap and she eventually ended up losing her tail which is a miracle that she is alive. No dolphin has been known to survive without a tail other than Winter and she continues to serve as an inspiration to others. Once we saw Winter and Hope (Winters tank mate) I got tears in my eyes because it was so amazing that this dolphin was alive and is still alive. I think I probably stayed looking at those dolphins swim for half an hour. Winter and Hope serve as an inspiration to many people, they have many events where children with disabilities get to meet Winter because they feel connected with her and her prosthetic tail.
We watched a worker speak about how the movie Dolphin Tail was a bit fake because Hollywood had to make the story more dramatic. The lady who was presenting asked the crowd, “How are dolphins tails supposed to move verses how Winter’s tail now moves?” The crowd was silent so being nervous about saying anything I just moved my hands in an up in down motion then a side to side motion and she saw me and explained what I did to the crowd. That experience was an eye opener because it made me realize that this was something that I was able to do, my confidence level was up.
On our way through the facility we passed a girl about my age with a shirt that said Clearwater Marine Aquarium on the front and for some reason I turned around to look at the back and in big capital letters it said INTERN. I looked at both of my parents with big bright eyes and said, “Oh my gosh they have an internship program here I HAVE to do it! I NEED to work here! This is what I want!” My parents encouraged me and told me to look it up once we were done at the facility.
Once we left the facility I looked up the internship program, they had one for a Marine Mammal Training. This means that if I got this internship that I would be working with Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins and North American River Otters. Dolphins are my favorite animal so I looked into this internship even more. That is when I faced a major problem, the internship is unpaid and does not provide housing. After freaking out about this for several months I finally realized that if this is something that I want to do with the rest of my life then I should do this because life is too short to regret not doing something that would make you happy.
Hope (right) swimming next to her tank mate Winter (left).
