Every time I sit and stew on my couch and watch hours of documentaries, it makes me think about things I am passionate about, things I think are important to me. and I think that is where I would find an ideal job, not in things I necessarily like to do but in things I am passionate about. If I am not supposed to let myself be held back by my location, job status, relationship status, etc.
I find it really difficult not to be held back by these things, because moving on to new stages of life often means letting older trappings go. I don't want to let anything go, but I want to go and find something I care about and solve a problem in a smart and innovative way. I don't want to be a drone, but at the same time I need to garner some form of security for a future family. So my paradox is: To have security, you must be a drone. To follow your dreams you must be a tight rope walker with no security.
One interest:
I think I would like to work with BSL and BDL legislation, however with no law degree and no desire to become a lawyer (I honestly don't know if I am up to the work involved) I am not sure what can be accomplished other than holding a sign (which I feel accomplishes 3% the results people want). Petitioning local legislative bodies to change laws locally will eventually make a change, because small steps start big steps. I am not a fan of dogs in general. I find Pit bull type dogs just as annoying as poodles and retrievers and labs and chihuahua dogs little yappy ankle biters. I am passionate about this issue not because of the dogs involved, but because I know that dogs touch people's hearts and bring joy to their lives; they can teach responsibility and strengthen relationships, provide support for the sick and work many jobs that humans cannot accomplish yet with technology (search and rescue being a good example). I think that blocking BSL and BDL legislation and focusing more on responsible ownership laws for all dogs, as well as stopping backyard breeders and making spay neuter mandatory would go a long way to making a difference in the number of dog bites/attacks we see as well as cutting down the number of dogs who are bred unsound physically, emotionally or mentally and placed into society for human monetary gain.
a second much more vague Interest:
I really like plants. I have a LOT LESS PLANTS than I once did because we got a cat and she has been systematically assassinating them one by one, however I have a really big interest in the way that the US and Canada grow their food- I know that we have genetically engineered crops pest resistant etc- but my real interest is in the pesticides used and finding a healthier alternative for the environment, now that companies have been manufacturing these pest and weed resistant "-icides" for our crops, our yields are up, however mother nature is fighting back with many varieties of weeds becoming resistant to our chemical advances, making commercial farming much harder as weeds that once were confined to the edges of fields are bolting into the corn as it were (one particularly 'smart' and fast adapting weed is rapeseed) There is an economical impact of smaller farmers who's crops cannot stand up against large companies and who are driven out of business as they cannot afford the new and best chemicals to fight these superweeds...etc. The food industry in America is like a labrynth of new and terrifying and exotic and scary things around every corner and no David Bowie in sight, and there are so many places for improvement. Since this is literally how we keep our country alive I wish it were more focused on feeding people properly instead of cheaply, and making a more positive impact on our environmnent.
Third and most possible interest:
Photographing animals in pounds and shelters to make more positive profiles and get more animals adopted than purchased from breeders. Make it a community witnessed effort. Increase awareness of the evils of backyard breeders.
Reasoning: Animals will ALWAYS be purchased from breeders because people are snotty (yup went there). Professional Dog and Cat Breeders usually represent the top of the pyramid for providing animals that are healthy, cared for, and sturdy emotionally/mentally/physically, and for that reason I think society will always have a place for them. However, as long as Asshole Backyard Breeders are making puppies for some easy money, and people are not spaying and neutering, our shelters and pounds will be overflowing with adoptable animals who will otherwise be put to death, because the supply far outweighs the demand.
I advocate for Spay and Neuter and proper pet ownership education. I know a lot of shelter animals are returned to shelters for behavioral issues. I think it is really important to match an animal's energy level and intelligence with the family life and get an honest picture of how this animal will fit in before a person takes it home and is wildly surprised by the fact that the lazy dog they wanted can figure out how to open the front door and run the neighborhood, or that their cat climbs everything in sight when they wanted a couch potato (which was my pet mistake). Shelter staff should be educated on the general temperament of their animals, and should do their best to prevent mismatches, as well as educating prospective adopters to have an open mind and to be honest- many pet behavioral issues come from people not putting in the time and effort, or not having been honest with themselves before adopting about their lifestyle or time restrictions. I think morally I would rather have a dog be euthanized and killed than have it be adopted and miserable or mistreated in a bad home.
I think more government support should be given to shelters and city pounds especially to fund programming, and I think I could find room in any city's budget to trim the fat and I am no whiz. All it takes is an honest look at the books. I think free obedience classes for dogs are really important to community wellness and child safety as well, and that as responsible ownership should be taught young in school. As responsible ownership increases in any community, there will be a raised awareness of lawbreakers regarding animal welfare as well as increased tolerance for all breeds of dogs, fighting BSL and BDL on the ground floor which ties into my other interest.
COINCIDENTALLY
I have a huge interest in genetics, my hubby has a huge interest in golden retrievers, and coincidentally this has manifested itself into my interest in dog breeding. I don't want to be a breeder and I have this seething contempt for them because I secretly feel like they are ruining dogs, sort of how bread went from being made from scratch to being wonderbread. However, my rampant interest in all things genetics and cut and paste genealogy has made dog breeders and indispensable resource to track coat colors through lineages and the rise and fall of genetic instabilities as well as dominant and recessive genes etc. It is just so interesting. I really like that Professional Breeders take what they do seriously, often do not do it for monetary gain, their dogs go to the vet and are well bred, well cared for, and that families are screened and sometimes home visited before they are allowed to take home a puppy. I think if we could get population down and model shelter adoptions more along this line, there would be less shelter returns. But a lot of it is stopping the girl around the block from breeding her blue pit because he's beautiful and she needs the money. She's an idiot and she needs to be stopped or get licensed and all that comes with that. I want that lay's face on a poster with the words "The Problem" under it.
Maybe something with animals.
One proud accomplishment: I can make an origami bunny.
