Beth Thompson
It seems incredibly strange sitting down and writing this, whilst realising that a whole 6 years has passed since I left CFSA! Over that time a lot has changed in my life – I’ve lived and worked in three different countries, studied at the literal equivalent of Hogwarts, and grown more than I could ever have begun to imagine. Though all of this, of course, started with CFSA.
Like many of you out there, I went through school not really knowing what I wanted to do once I reached the other side. This is something that I’ve come to realise is unbelievably common – I know people in their 50’s who are still figuring out what they want to do when they grow up! What I did know was that I genuinely loved learning, that I enjoyed being outside as much as being inside, and that I wasn’t quite finished with education yet…after a whole heap of soul searching, and some wonderful advice from the staff at CFSA, I made the decision to study the subject I enjoyed the most at University: Biology.
It turns out however that, for someone as indecisive as myself, choosing a subject is only part of the battle! Based on my predicted grades, I was encouraged by several members staff at CFSA to apply to Oxford or Cambridge University. When this was first suggested, I genuinely laughed in their faces. However, it would be them having the last laugh, so to speak, when I was invited for an interview at Lady Margaret Hall (Oxford University) several months later; and even more so when my offer letter arrived in the post!
Fast forward 3 years and I was graduating with an Honours Degree in a city where the likes of Tolkien had studied! In honesty, barely a day passed without, in some way or another, me being in complete awe of the city and the people who lived there. I’d certainly never been in an environment quite like it – and I’m not entirely sure I will be again. I genuinely owe my University experience to my teachers at CFSA. There is no way on Earth I would have applied without their encouragement, badgering, and general shoves in that direction! (And I mean that all in a good way – I was convinced there wasn’t a place at Oxbridge for someone like me, and it turns out I was wrong!).
But finishing University was just the first hurdle. Again, I found myself asking what it was I wanted to do with my life… at 18, even with the support of staff from CFSA, it wasn’t a simple question, and it transpired that although I was three years older, I was no closer to the answer.
Little was I to know that this would be the last time I would stay put in one place for quite some time…in the April of 2018 I relocated Wales, to begin a 3-month internship studying bottlenose dolphins with Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre. After some toing and froing, three months turned to seven; and before I knew it, I was on the move again. This time to somewhere slightly further afield, approximately 11,426 miles away: New Zealand. After purchasing a small van, myself and a friend spent 7 months travelling, volunteering, and working all around the Pacific Island! However, it wasn’t long before I was to take to the skies once again; this time making the shorter journey across the Tasman Sea to Australia. Several months prior, I had been fortunate to be offered a position as a Field Research Assistant with Flinders University, supporting a PhD Student in studying the bottlenose and humpback dolphin populations around the North West Cape of Exmouth.
After a dream winter spent on the waters around Ningaloo Reef, I flew home to the UK. Once again, I found myself asking what I wanted to do with my life. I was certainly more worldly wise…but the answer was still not forthcoming! After filling out application after application and attending multiple interviews, I was offered a position with the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, based at Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre – the very same organisation I had volunteered with two years prior.
I’ve now been back in Wales for over a year, and although my contract is soon to come to an end, I am no longer afraid to ask myself what it is that I want to do with my life. If I am completely honest, I’m not sure that it’s a question I will ever be able to answer…and that is something that no longer fills me with dread. If my short experience in life has taught me anything so far, it’s that sometimes the best thing you can do is wait to see which way the wind takes you next.
If you have made it this far through my ramblings – and thank you if you have! – I have just a few things left to say. There is nothing wrong with dreaming big. There is nothing wrong with taking time to breathe and take stead. There is nothing wrong with changing your mind. Every one of us are making our way through this strange journey that is life in completely different ways – please remember that before you compare yourself to anyone else around you! If I could give one piece of advice to students at CFSA it would be, and this sounds super cringey (!), to take every opportunity that is thrown at you. You never know what is waiting just around the corner.
Good luck!