In defence of Environmental Biology

I was having such a good week (in fact, I've had such a good month) and today I was going to write a blog post about Oktoberfest and the Recycle Party and stuff like that, but then I called my mum to tell her about how uni is going and now I am mad. Not even sad, I'm mad.

You know your parent disapproves of your degree when they're more excited that you went to a drinking festival than about how you're doing well in your tests, planning on volunteering and doing work experience and third year projects and that you're loving what you're doing.

My mum has never exactly been supportive of what I want to do. She's never exactly told me that it's a waste of time, but she has never been willing to help me out when it comes to Environmental Biology stuff. However, she never used to be this bad. Now that she's working in the contracting business with my stepdad, however, and the two of them together have to work with environmentalists and the like, she's become so unbearable that I just can't handle it anymore.

She's always been convinced that I'm going back to Kununurra. That I'm going to work for a mining company. That if I HAVE to work as an environmentalist, that I AM GOING TO earn a lot of money for it. That has never been my plan. I may have told her that in 2008 to shut her up when I was applying for TISC, but it has never been my plan, other than as a back up.

But now apparently even that isn't good enough. This is the exact conversation we had on the phone an hour ago:

Me: Hey mum, what's happening?

Mum: Oh, not much, just on the internet looking something up, how about you? How's everything going down there?

Me: Oh yeah, not too bad. Busy, though, I've basically had an assignment due every three-five days for the last few we-

Mum: Oh, that sounds terrible. How's it going though? Still getting through it? Still sure you want to continue? Next year's your third year, if you're going to get out you should probably do it now.
Me: No, I love it!

Mum: Hmm, well, I'm just thinking of what's best for you. Are you coming back to Kununurra for the holidays?
Me: Oh, well I don't know if I'll be doing work experience, but I'll find out soon and let you know.

Mum: Why are you doing work experience? Do you get paid?

Me: ... No, but it's a 25 credit class and I want to do it, not to mention it looks good on a resume, it shows you're willing to work in the field you wan-

Mum: Yes, but you're not getting paid. They just want people who'll work for free. I just don't see the point in it, you should just come back to Kununurra and be with your sister because Mark and I will be in Germany for four weeks.
Me: Well, Chloe can just come down here.
Mum: Well... we'll see. At least you'll have a job here.

(half an hour passes)

Mum: So what else has been going on?

Me: Not much really... Oh, I might be helping out with the Curtin E&A Club next year. There aren't many of us, but it should be good to do-

Mum: Why?

Me: Oh, because I want to and because it won't go ahead if no one helps and because-

Mum: No, but I don't see why you're getting involved, you probably shouldn't become invested in stuff like that. And you make it sound like there aren't a lot of people who want to be involved and it's going to be a lot of work, you shouldn't waste time on things like that.
Me: Well, I'm going to.
Mum: Well, we'll see.

"We" won't see anything. I have "seen" already, and I'm going to do it. I apologise if it's not your idea of a job that a successful business woman / a well paid woman would have, but I've been settled on it for years and you haven't talked me out of it yet, and even if it does become something I grow out of in the future it will be because I thought so, and not you.

So excuse me, but I have shit to learn about cane toad hearts and algal blooms and I'd rather do that than dwell on this anymore.