The Looking Glass.

I’ve lived many of my most exciting moments from behind a piece of glass.  I started with a camera.   My favorite initial subjects were those that did not move, those whose patience with my fumbling inexperience were naturally limitless.  Early on, I developed a great appreciation for flowers and leaves for their photogenic symmetry, color, and, of course, their stillness.  I eventually progressed to other subjects.  But like an old friend, those first photos remained fond in my memory until I found myself, again, fascinated with what lay behind a glass barrier in my first biology class. 

I remember that blue cobblestone pattern (onion cells), remember hearing my teacher's voice without looking up. It was saying something about form and function. I decided then that I would learn more about the interplay between the structure I was looking at and the the functions I couldn't observe in a slide. I spent the rest of the afternoon flipping through pages that described the evolutionary modifications of various plant life –orchids that fooled pollinating bees by mimicking a mate, acacia trees that hosted armies of ants as a means of defense, plants that produced deadly toxins and others that created slow-acting tannins.
To say that I was merely surprised would be an understatement. Plants had seemed relatively uncomplicated through a camera lens.   As a photographer, I'd counted them as simpler subjects than most other things: beginner's stuff before tackling people and places.  But that was before I started learning about their pathology. I became captivated by the clever practicality of the kingdom Plantae.

            Since then, I have enjoyed my venture into botany.  Right now, I want to learn more about the global health of agricultural systems- the mechanism of botanical virus transmission, the effective use of fertilizers, and the sustainability and improvement of crops in largely impoverished regions. I'll be applying to internships along with generally reading, writing, and breathing science (wafting, in accordance with proper technique).  You'd think that my approach is awfully limiting.  Those scientists- even with one eye free from the microscope, they can't see more than a few feet in front of their own ideas.  But that's exactly the approach, or stereotype, that I'd like to sidestep.  There will be experimental data and precise jargon, but there will also be writing, ethics, and art.  I'm putting the life back in the life sciences, just you wait and see.  

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