Tamrynn's Blog :]

This is a picture I took of Scorpion Bay, Santa Cruz Island. I've spent a lot of time here, camping, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, kelp forest monitoring, scuba diving. I know that cove like the back of my hand. I've had a lot of firsts there. I've grown a lot there. Learned a lot. Santa Cruz and the Channel Islands are a reminder of the things I've done and am capable of doing, mistakes I've learned from, and the beauty and diversity that nature holds.

I'm moving to Hawaii for three years while I get my BS. Many react to my news with jealousy and excitement. You'd think I'd be just as excited, if not more, and I am..sometimes. Or at least I was. In the beginning I was ecstatic now I just feel worried, scared, nervous, unsure, sad, and panicked. I haven't been sleeping, I've been having panic attacks, nightmares, second thoughts... I'm obsessing over all of the unknown factors and negative possible outcomes. Time is flying by and I'm not ready. Once I'm there I know it will be easier, it's the anticipation is killing me. People tell me that I'll do fine and I have nothing to worry about; I know they're probably right. That doesn't seem to make my anxiety go away. They tell me I should be happy that I have the chance to study in paradise. But what if that isn't MY paradise? What if I don't like being stuck in the middle of the worlds biggest ocean drenched from hot humid weathe

            The whole blogging experience was totally new for me. I had no clue what I was doing, how I should write a blog, or where and when it is appropriate to post things.  It was interesting; I haven’t decided whether or not I will keep it going. My intentions are to continue, I feel like it might be a nice stress relief while I’m in Hawaii. I like that fact that I can be creative and share interests and information to others who might find it amusing. I appreciated being able to learn about my classmates and things that were important to them.  I feel like it brought the class a bit closer and was a nice outlet for everyone. Blogs can help you find your voice and writing style, which can be very beneficial for continuing in college writing. I have to give a shout out to my girls at our table; Monique, Patricia, Shaina, and Ashley! I’m still up for that karaoke night! Heyy!

I woke up before the sun had come up, which normally I would not be happy about. Not today, today I was grinning ear to ear. I tie on my suit, gather my snorkel gear and my 4/3 (a thin wetsuit), and hop into the car. We get to the dock on the western most point on the island just in time to see one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen. Definitely was on my “top ten sunrises of my lifetime” list. I took a couple pictures, but it really didn’t do it justice.  We take a look at the “cage” I’ll be diving in.  It had two thin round aluminum hoops on the top and bottom with thin fraying nylon netting around the sides and bottom of the cage.  The nylon netting was full of gaping holes.  My Mom started freaking out, to be honest it was much less than I was expecting too, and the captain assured her that they’ve never had an issue before.  I stepped aboard, hugged my Mom and Dad goodbye, and we headed out for a shallow reef about three hours off shore. The weather was per

This is my personal statement that I wrote to HPU. I'm actually proud of this piece. I really put my heart into it. I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, responsible for what I say and do, respect myself and others, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every girl scout. Since the first time I recited the Girl Scout Law I’ve made it my goal to live by these morals. As a young girl the words really stuck with me. I thought, “Why can’t we all live by this?” I felt as though I had a valuable secret and I wanted to share it. Right around the age I started Girl Scouts I took my first trip to Sea World San Diego. This was another life changing experience for me. I vividly remember walking through the shark tunnel fascinated by these alien creatures dancing in the waters above me. I looked up at my Dad, pointing at a scuba diver cleaning algae off the walls, and said, “ I’m going

I consider myself lucky to find this assignment so challenging. I have many amazing people in my life; past and present. Relevance varies depending on which aspect of my life I am examining, career goals, personal values, school success, or extra curricular projects.             I can think of one person who has been there for all of it, I’m sure some of you have guessed already, my Mommy. She is one of the most beautiful people I know. She’s five feet and two inches full to the brim of passion, compassion, spunk, adventure, courage, experience, and knowledge. My Mom is 41 as of March of this year but acts closer to a 30 year old in the best ways possible. She has shoulder length brown hair but you may find it at her lower back if she is growing it out to donate it to cancer patients. She tells me if I look closely at her grey hairs I can see descriptions on them; the day I got my license, the day I started high school, the day I told her I was leaving to Hawaii for college, the day

Growing up as an only child I always felt like one of the adults. I spent most of my time with older people; I really didn’t have any friends and kids my age picked on me. I wanted so badly to “grow up”, be an adult, and not have to deal with all the unfair hardships of childhood. By the age of thirteen I was a high school student with a part time job. I wanted to help my family out so I started paying for some of my own toiletries and clothes. I would go out with my friends and use my own money. It was nice. I felt a sense of independence. I liked not having to bother my parents for funds on trivial things. I still had trouble with authority. I did not appreciate being treated like a child, especially by adults that I felt had no moral standing to do so. I still longed for adulthood where I could stay out past curfew, make my own decisions, take care of myself, and not have anyone to answer to. I realized before I graduated high school that I would never stop having to answer to

            Texting is sadly a huge part of our society. Not very many people believe in face to face contact anymore. It’s all done via text or Facebook. I mean even our English courses have us posting in blogs these days. In all reality it’s much more convenient to reply to a text when you have time, rather than stopping everything to answer a phone call. I am just as guilty as anyone. I send a ridiculous amount of text messages a day. Although I do refuse to seriously use LOL, LMAO, and SMH in daily conversation. I prefer to use correct spelling and punctuations, typos excluded. My Grandma is constantly sending me acronyms for things I’ve never heard of. She is actually the one I go to when I’m not sure what someone is trying to say. We constantly get into agreements. I constantly hound her, “can’t you just spell out the word? You’re only leaving out one letter!” “No, it takes too long! You understand what I’m saying most of the time,” my Grandma will exclaim. I’m definitely not h

Growing up fast food was definitely a treat for me. MyGrandma, who lived with us, was diabetic so the majority of the food our familyate was healthy. Even our desserts were things like fresh fruits or sorbets;you know, the types of foods adults trick kids into thinking are just as goodas gooey chocolate chip cookies. I had to work for a guilty treat. Before Istarted preschool I would earn my treats by reading new books (I loved EdgarAllen Poe) and giving reports on them to my family and doing chores around thehouse. When I was old enough for school I would do home book reports, chores,and I had to A’s and B’s in my assignments. If I were to choose a fast foodrestaurant I would almost always pick McDonalds. I would order the chickenmcnugget kids meal. Although even when I earned a type of special treat I wouldask for vegetables. I preferred vegetables to sweets as a child. I attribute itto the fact that I grew up eating healthy food. I would request carrots andcelery instead of McDona

     Reality television is anything but reality. I actually know someone who was on a reality dating show, called Fifth Wheel I believe. She informed me that the “Diary Cams” are scripted as well as the arguments and most of the dialogue. A lot of these reality shows use the same actors for different shows. Take Joe from show A, cut his hair and change his accent, and you now have Justin for show B! You can’t call that reality…      I’ve never been a fan of reality television, if you couldn’t tell by my previous paragraph. I am much more of a documentary type. I will pick National Geographic over MTV any day. Documentaries are the closest you’ll get to reality television. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen a fair share of “documentaries” that are just as real as America’s oh so popular “reality television”. Adversely, I realize not every single reality television show is overwhelmed with crying and screaming. Some may even pose as a somewhat educational source, one being The Amazing Race

Have you ever felt like things are going to well?  When everything falls into place I have a bad habit of waiting for something to fall apart. I know I should be positive but for some reason I always have that uneasy, marbles clanking around in your stomach, feeling. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely appreciative for  favorable events occurring in life, I just can't shake that idea of a gloomy cloud lurking overhead. I suppose the best thing to do is focus on the positive things and deal with the rain clouds as they pass by. Whatever will be, will be. ...Maybe I should  knock on some wood...just to be safe.

Growing up I didn’t have many friends. I was diagnosed as a “gifted” child by the age of four. I spent a lot of my earlychildhood taking tests so my private schools and tutor services couldunderstand how my brain worked. I didn’t get along well with kids my age; Iattribute that to being an only child. I dealt with older people a lot betterthan my classmates. Teachers and students picked on me for being different. Atone point the abuse from my teacher and the kids in my catholic school becameso volatile that my parents transferred me to public schooling. My parents gaveme everything they could, and more. They fed my passion for the Ocean and lovedme unconditionally. My parents got me through the bullying and hardships of “beinga kid”. I feel very lucky to have such a supportive and caring family. Myfamily has made me who I am today. I am a Marine Biologist working towards mydegree. I help run the Oxnard College Marine Center and Aquarium, which I amvery grateful, to hold the