Hi! I’m Sam.
Here’s what you need to know about me:
I’m a girl with an obsession for all things aquatic, an obsession that began when I was a toddler and most people assumed I’d outgrow. You know, like most kids outgrow their “I’m going to be a pretty princess” phases. Well I didn’t outgrow it, in fact I clung to it like a barnacle to a rock and went on to study fish in college. Yes, that’s right, I majored in fish. Aquatic and fishery sciences to be exact.
My major allowed me to specialize in marine research and see a bit more of the world while doing it. Sweet deal for a fish geek right? I spent a quarter living at a marine laboratory in Friday Harbor, Washington where days were spent studying marine critters and algae, and nights spent playing in the touch tanks. The following semester I traded the frigid waters of the Salish Sea for that big bathtub known as the Caribbean. Here I got a taste of the social studies side of marine science, and a taste for travel. I got to take my research and growing love for travel a step further the following summer when I took an internship studying the endangered Hawaiian monk seal in Oahu. Safe to say island life grew on me.
I’m now graduated and taking a break from academia to take my love for marine science on the road. The goal is to explore a bit more of this blue planet, and see what there is to learn about the world’s oceans that college didn’t teach me. And of course to have as many adventures and laughs as possible along the way.
Here’s some things you probably don’t need to know about me:
- I’m a Seattleite born and raised
- I swear like a sailor (much to the chagrin of my mother)
- Despite four years studying fish, I still haven’t figured out how to grow gills, so for now I’m an avid scuba diver
- I’m ever searching for new favorite cafes in new cities
- I’m a movie geek, and my favorite form of therapy is solo movie hopping
- I’ll take any excuse to play outdoors you can give me
Why Blue Minded Life?
A college Professor had introduced me to a concept known as “Blue Mind”; the idea that those close to water – whether in, on, or near it – experience a higher level of healing, happiness and connectedness. The term was coined by Marine Biologist Wallace J. Nichols, and through collaboration with other Marine and Neuro Scientists, he has compiled a growing amount of evidence to support this hypothesis.
Nichols put words to a phenomena I had experienced countless times in my own life; the calm I feel when diving under the ocean, the simple serenity of watching waves lap against the shoreline, and the joy of sharing such moments with friends. Hand in hand with an appreciation for such experiences comes the knowledge that for them to persist, I need to play my part to protect aquatic environments worldwide. So now as I travel around the world I’m on the search for blue-minded experiences, experiences I hope to share with others so that they may feel moved to also participate in efforts to protect and sustain these resources that are so vital to both our basic physical needs and our spiritual well-being.