Soil and Science

So in my microbiology class today we learned about soil microbiology. But the whole time he was talking about the ecosystems of soil microbes, and showing us pictures of them and diagrams of soil, I was thinking of gardening. I was thinking of the delight of warm-from-the-sun moist earth between fingers and toes, of the smell of earth on a spring day, of the mud that is everywhere. I wanted to get out there and plant things, watch them grow, play in the mud and soil.

I was also thinking of how I actually really like science, and how I might want to do something scientific for a job. I think part of my aversion to lab science up till this point was due to a couple of factors. One, that I was doing experiments that have already been done hundreds of times before, that already have answers. Two, that we always seemed rushed in the lab, due to the necessity of doing lab work in the class time provided. And Three, the amount of mistakes, fudging, etc that occurred in my lab classes made me feel that the future of science was sadly doomed. The kids around me, who were copying lab reports and fudging data, wanted to go into scientific fields. They were the future of science, and it was a sad sight.

But now I'm considering that I'm good at microbiology (and organic- and bio-chemistry). And I like it. I enjoy playing with DNA and small organisms (except fruit flies). It's something I can do, that I like doing, and that has a rather secure future.