Wildlife Whisperer

Had an interesting meeting with an amazing man today - John Richardson. John is a visiting professor from American University, spending one semester at the Institute of Water Policy at our School. I was first introduced to him at one of our lectures where he gave a presentation on system dynamics and I was completely impressed, by his knowledge, his style and his dedication. A week or two later I sought him out and had an inspiring meeting with him. Then came the phase of assignments and exams and I lost touch, but would occasionally bump into him in School. After almost a month I met him again today and now feel sad that I should have sought him out more often as I do not know when I will see him again - I leave for India this Thursday and by the time I get back in August he would have completed his term here (hopefully to return next year). Today we discussed the suitability of an activist like myself, in the field of academia. Recently I have had a lot of questions churning in my mi...

While chatting with my ever loving and ever critically insightful sister yesterday we were reflecting what the past year has meant to me. And the conclusion we reached was that it was God sent – like everything else in life ofcourse – but a bit more special J By this time last year I had reached the pinnacle (there are many peaks in life) of my professional career and had started to get a nagging feeling that I was becoming redundant. It was my own self-evaluation though, as the others in my organization did not necessarily feel the same way. But I am a water sign and I need movement and change for survival. The love and support of my group had held me for more than 5 years, my single largest commitment to date, and I do not regret one day in that long period. That phase of my life nurtured me like nothing else in life had or ever will. But move on I had to. This was coupled with my desire for further learning and it felt that the next logical step would be to pursue a PhD. To begi...