Some kids grow up wanting to be a teacher, a firefighter, a doctor or a professional athlete. I did not. To be fair, I already was a teacher and a doctor, depending on whatever I chose to pretend on a given day. But like most kids, I frequently changed my mind about what I wanted to be when I "grew up." Here's some of the greatest lifetime aspirations from my childhood:
Even though I never discovered a T-Rex skull in my backyard, I took away a spark of archeological passion from the experience. It ended up being a founding factor in my decision to minor in anthropology, and my love for "digging stuff up" (or at least attempting to) was rekindled in an archeology class I took last semester. But what on Earth does any of this have to do with my life here in Paris? I have five words for you: le Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle.
Last weekend I went to France's National Museum of Natural History (that's what that bit in French above meant). It is essentially a four-story mausoleum filled with different skeletal structures of all sorts of species. As someone who fancies herself as a kindred spirit with the oceans' gentle giants, the most impressive part of the museum was seeing the display of various whale skeletons. I couldn't fathom how immense and beautiful the whales were, even if all I was seeing were their bones. Trying to imagine anything that large in its living, breathing form is next to impossible, try as I may. The second most remarkable part of my visit to the museum was seeing "Lucy" in person. I've read about her in multiple textbooks and learned about her in various classrooms, seeing her in person was also somewhat difficult to come to terms with.
The National Museum of Natural History is possibly one of the best museums I have ever visited, and if you ever find yourself in Paris, I insist you take advantage of the opportunity to visit it. As I prepare to say à bientôt to Paris in a few short weeks, I know I'm not going to miss the random bouts of precipitation, but I sure am going to miss spending rainy afternoons inside extraordinary Parisian museums like this one.
- Become a Rock 'n' Roll Librarian: You know ... a librarian, but one who would lend people music instead of books. This may or may not be my fall back if this whole journalism thing doesn't pan out. I would also accept the position of regular librarian as a potential Plan C.
- Become Amish: After a family reunion near a thriving Amish community, I was convinced this would be a good path to take. Looking back, this fascination might have had something to do with the fact the kids got to run around town barefoot without being hounded by their mothers (something I still wish my mom would stop yelling at me about).
- Become a paleontologist: I'm not really sure where this one came from. Maybe it was my affinity for The Land Before Time movies, or perhaps it was the dinosaur play I preformed in Mrs. Birch's second grade class. One thing I know for certain is that I once spent what seemed like an eternity (probably about 20 minutes) digging in my backyard, expecting to find remains of some sort. I found nothing, and I'm pretty sure that's when I switched career paths again.
Even though I never discovered a T-Rex skull in my backyard, I took away a spark of archeological passion from the experience. It ended up being a founding factor in my decision to minor in anthropology, and my love for "digging stuff up" (or at least attempting to) was rekindled in an archeology class I took last semester. But what on Earth does any of this have to do with my life here in Paris? I have five words for you: le Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle.
Last weekend I went to France's National Museum of Natural History (that's what that bit in French above meant). It is essentially a four-story mausoleum filled with different skeletal structures of all sorts of species. As someone who fancies herself as a kindred spirit with the oceans' gentle giants, the most impressive part of the museum was seeing the display of various whale skeletons. I couldn't fathom how immense and beautiful the whales were, even if all I was seeing were their bones. Trying to imagine anything that large in its living, breathing form is next to impossible, try as I may. The second most remarkable part of my visit to the museum was seeing "Lucy" in person. I've read about her in multiple textbooks and learned about her in various classrooms, seeing her in person was also somewhat difficult to come to terms with.
The National Museum of Natural History is possibly one of the best museums I have ever visited, and if you ever find yourself in Paris, I insist you take advantage of the opportunity to visit it. As I prepare to say à bientôt to Paris in a few short weeks, I know I'm not going to miss the random bouts of precipitation, but I sure am going to miss spending rainy afternoons inside extraordinary Parisian museums like this one.