Life’s a Beach

I am SheRockScience. I stand with defiance. I’m building an alliance where art, adventure, and science come together. I create, I coagulate, I contemplate. I find a way to share what I know so together we all may grow. Come with me on my journey and see how SheRockScience came to be…

As a kid I loved nature. I would watch ants walk by and think about where they were going as they marched along. I’d catch lightning bugs and let them glow in my hand. I’d look under rocks to see who was living there, hidden away.

I struggled in school.

Grades were not my strength, but it was not for a lack of trying. In elementary school handwriting was always a “C” and spelling a “B.” I did extra credit and hours of practice to pull off those grades. My brain is just not wired with letters that way.

As the years went on, classes did not get easier. History had so many names of things to remember. Math was not conceptually hard, I grasped the concepts quickly, but never seemed to copy the correct numbers along the page. In biochemistry, I would be the one to ask the advanced questions on the spot, but barely passed the exam because I couldn’t remember the names I needed to—only how the processes worked.

I made flash cards for everything. I used colors to help code my learning. It only sort of helped. I squeaked through university with a 2.95 grade point average—which rounds up to 3.0, which was enough to get me into graduate school.

But grades and tests did not stop me.

I think creatively. I excelled during my Masters and Doctorate programs. My research projects asked questions about biology from many angles. I pursued the things that worked and dropped the ones that did not. In my research career, I worked with over a half dozen different types of animals, published 20 peer-reviewed articles and a book chapter. I’ve given seminars, presented at international conferences, taught university courses, and lead outreach events. I was the biologist in an engineering program in Scotland and a research scientist at the United States Department of Agriculture in California.

How does this land me drawing on the beach?

Three years ago, I left research and decided to switch careers to freelance science communication (SciComm). Most people ask what that means—I’m making it up as I go!

There are programs out there to train people to be journalists or work with science policy. But I am not as interested in those areas. My many years of being immersed in high-level science research is one of my strengths; I want to guide my SciComm activities with this scientific foundation. I want to translate science concepts to help people understand the environment, human health, and many other topics important to everyone.

Perhaps my lack of term recall, which made schooling so hard, mixed with my strong conceptual understanding is what makes me good at explaining scientific ideas to a wider population. I want us all to be part of the conversation, not just those savvy in the terminology.

During the pandemic, I wanted to help people. I am not a medical first responder, so I couldn’t help patients. I am not wealthy, so donating to a cause was not my go to. I am not an organizer to help the immediate pandemic needs. However, I do understand biology and how to find good, reliable information. I am a science communicator and I can help people understand the coronavirus.

I independently created 4 videos, an infographic, several articles, artwork and more to help explain the coronavirus. In addition, I worked with specialized parties to help them create infographics, videos, and other materials to help spread the public health messages.

To see my coronavirus materials please visit https://SheRockScience.com/Coronavirus.

I write, illustrate, create graphics, and produce videos. I flow with what I feel is a good activity for the day. I am a creative—as my friends say. I see the beauty, interesting tid-bit, curious questions of the everyday around me. I explore my world. I reach within to pour out what I see, what I feel, what to me is a big deal.

How does this relate to my self-portrait on the beach?

I lay on the beach thinking about what fulfills me and why people should support my passion. The beach is a 3 hour drive, so an occasional go to—not my every day.

Me. Why me? Who am I and what do I have to offer?

I take in my day. I take in the beach, the waves, the sun, the sounds. I start to draw a self-portrait. My view. I draw what I feel. I feel the day around me.

I offer snippets of science. My beach day was filled with watching the barnacles open with the waves. Sealions swimming by. Seagulls swooping in for a snack. Sandcrabs scurrying in the sand. Seaweed stranded on land. Ocean swimmers training for a marathon. Musclemen trying to push their limits. A little boy excited for the waves, but also scared for his dad to go deeper into the ocean leaving him ashore. An 11-year-old girl seeing how far out she could go to sea and still stand in the waves. Sun baked people burning beneath the skin. In the world I see the science behind all the things that surround me.

My beach day reflects in my mind. My sketch turns into a painting. My observations into stories. My thoughts into poetry.

Let’s explore the barnacle more.

After visiting the beach I wrote this poem and set it to video (June 2021).

Life fulfills me. I overflow with ideas. I offer my creations. I would love to be supported to continue to create what I see in the world around me. Perhaps my work would take the form of written stories, videos, large art pieces, or more tangible prints. My imagination has no limit.

Recently, I reflected on life and my freelance direction. This took me to create The Pods of Potentiality. All the directions I can go, am going, and have come from. The piece is layered with thoughts. The thoughts shade the piece. Together, they reflect who I am right now.

To see the full poem, as it was written, please visit: https://SheRockScience.com/artwork/the-potentiality-of-pods

I lay on the beach observing my world, piecing together my reality. Am I fulfilled? I am. But if I start daydreaming, I think of how much more I can do. If I were sponsored by Memberful, there are so many ways I would share my world view. If people were to support my passion, I’d live in a different fashion. I’d not worry about finding the next big gig so that I can pay bills. I would welcome the opportunity to create, explore my ideas, or just stand still. Until, something new spilled out of me—that’s the way I’d like to be.