As a child growing up in cities, my main connection to nature was through a box of many wonders: the television. Even though the box was inanimate, I could always feel the adrenaline rush through me as the box brought me to valleys in the Sahara desert, or to the frosty Alps to document unique animals. I’m sure that many of my modern day peers have shared this similar experience. But this ordinary experience has driven me to seek more than what is around me; to have a craving for the things that exist outside of our walled up world.

Through the past years, I’ve been taking this golden opportunity of freedom to embark on quests for knowledge around various parts of world. Just entering a different biome is like being in a whole different world. Each place had treasures of knowledge that I took away with me. However, not everything that was dreamed of as a child have held true. I have been fortunate enough to have opportunities to assist in research projects previously, and certain aspects of field research made me question my passion for this field. How trustworthy are the conclusions made? How successful or tolerable would applying the fruits of the study be in real life? Would the study be used to benefit the greater good or someone in particular? The technicalities of research blurred the excitement I once owned.

At the beginning, I hoped that this trip to Nicaragua was going to help me clear the doubts that I had. And after spending 3 weeks in the midst of nature, I’m more than ecstatic to say that it had. I thoroughly enjoyed every part of formulating a project, to carrying it out and just being filled with curiosity and awe with every thing I saw. Even trekking out into the field in the dark, all sweaty with flies swarming in your face felt like the best place on earth to be. Once again I felt like I was at home. The rainforest taught me that it isn’t about producing theories and answers to everything, but just seeking the fascinating and immense possibilities that are out there waiting. Research is just the form it takes to share these discoveries with everyone around you.