For this inaugural edition we decided that it might be interesting for all of us to write a bit about why we became geologists/geophysicists.
As the host I get to compile (and read) all the submissions as they come in. I was so preoccupied (in a good way) by all these great essays that my own fell through the cracks resulting in a later publishing time than I originally planned! Sorry about that.
I definitely urge everyone to read all of these…it is a great collection of stories. And there is definitely a common theme regarding how many of us ended up where we are. It seems geology is not often a first-choice when students are choosing majors. It might be interesting to delve into why this is in future editions.
So…here we go…they are in alphabetical order by blog name:
#### [Of Lakes and Rocks (or why I do what I do)](http://shearsensibility.blogspot.com/2007/09/of-lakes-and-rocks.html)
A desire to solve pollution and water quality problems at a young age motivates Kim to study environmental chemistry. However, something happened her very first semester at college: she took a geology class because chemistry wasn’t offered until the next term.
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Thermochronic wanted to be an environmental biologist. However, something happened when he had to fulfill a requirement for the major: he took a geology class and went to the field. The realization that geology incorporated aspects of chemistry, biology, physics, statistics, etc. soon followed. Plus, any field that is both beard and flannel friendly has to be good.
#### [Playing in the Sandbox](http://www.brilliantmediocrity.com/archives/142-Playing-in-the-sandbox.html) [](http://apparentdip.blogspot.com/2007/09/why-thermochronic-is-thermochrnonic.html)
*by Chris at [Brilliant Mediocrity](http://www.brilliantmediocrity.com/)*
It all started by not only wondering why the world looked the way it did, but attempting to reconstruct it with physical experiments. Chris was 7 at the time.
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by Brian at Clastic Detritus
It feels silly to introduce my own post…you can just read it.
#### [Why I’m a Geophysicist](http://greengabbro.net/2007/09/02/why-im-a-geophysicist/)
Yami needed to fulfill a science requirement, took intro geology, and got hooked addicted immediately. Wait, that sounds familiar.
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by Chris at Highly Allochthonous
Chris started university with aspirations of becoming a physicist. To fill out some requirements he thought that gaining some knowledge about earthquakes, volcanoes, and the like would be cool, so he took a geology class. And then…well, you probably see what’s going on by now.
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*[](http://scienceblogs.com/highlyallochthonous/)*
Chris (our third one of this edition) gained actual marketable skills in computer sciences and had a real honest-to-goodness job. But wait…he was bored as schist and headed back to school. Mineralogy and petrology skills are now helping him unlock the secrets of the oldest solid materials in the solar system.
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by Miguel at MiGeo
As a child, Miguel picked up and admired rocks from the beaches of his hometown in Peru. He didn’t really think that picking up rocks could lead to a career in science. He thought about journalism, computers, information science, and related fields as a career. Circumstances led him to take a geology class and he’s made the most of it.
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*[](http://migeo.blogspot.com/)*
In our final post, Mel shares her circuitous journey starting at wanting to be a paleontologist (at the age of 7), ending up studying biochemistry as an undergrad, realizing that wasn’t the right path, and then ending up in a graduate program studying sedimentary geology.
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Another story about discovering the rewards and importance of geoscience.
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This one is a photo-essay…pretty clever.
Better late than never! Ron was out in the field when this post was first published. Be sure to check out his entry.
