The Bucket List

Here we go…

Wow, my first blog.  I’ve always kind of cringed when my mother told me about hers and the ones she was reading.  I guess I always thought they were just for people bragging about their travel adventures or showcasing their latest knitting achievements.  I hadn’t really considered that they could be useful to the scientific or academic fields, however after listening to the lecturers from Stanford University explaining why writing is so useful in formulating ideas and delving into your thinking by putting a voice to all the data you accumulate, I can see now the usefulness.  As well as a means to communicate and collaborate with fellow scientists.

So why am I here? This is paper number five towards the thing at the top of my bucket list… my science degree.  Bucket list you say?  It’s not the usual reason people give for studying, but it has a long story behind it I won’t bore you with today.  Let’s just say, it is something I never got to do when younger and has been an ongoing upset that it had yet to be achieved.  But yes, I do have all those other cliché reasons; it’s time for a change in career, I want to better myself, I want to learn new things, and I want to help society.

At the end of my university journey I hope to be working in the water treatment industry, providing safe drinking water for communities around the world.  Water is our most precious resource needed for drinking, cooking and sanitation, and one that for many reasons; climate change, pollution, poverty, geographic location, war; is not readily available to all.  To this end I’m working on a Bachelor of Science while still working full time, focusing on environmental science, and perhaps civil engineering at a later date.  

I tend to have always worked alone, which I why distance study works well for me, so this paper will be a challenge with the group assignment.  The most useful skill I will gain in this paper however is learning to collaborate with others which will be necessary when working on projects, potentially overseas, in my chosen field.  Though I can write well (personal opinion?), my reading skills need a little work, so I’m looking forward to learning how to effectively read reference material, find the relevant information and consolidate it. 

So let’s get started…