This is a pic of me when I was about 16. I did a program at the Island School where I learned to catch turtles. We would use a drone to spot them and then jump out of a little skiff boat. Then we would tag, track, and study them. About a year later, I was on a family trip and no one believed I could catch turtles and I got so competitive I had to prove them wrong. We were in deep water so I had to get creative and come up with a new technique and dive down and stay on-top of it until it came up for air. It was so funny when I came up with it and saw my dads face. Thinking about this experience reminds me of how passionate I am about studying and protecting marine life. I know that everyone complains about things like plastic straws, but it is so sad to see innocent marine life suffering from humans’ selfish tendency to disregard the impact our lifestyle has on the Earth.