Assignment 18 - Oliver Fister

1. The main thing I'd like to do before high school ends, and something I'm already planning to do this summer with my dad, is go out west to some dinosaur fossil sites to participate in tourist digs, visit museums, and learn more about the field of paleontology. While earlier in the year in blogs I've expressed an interest in English and writing as a career field, last year I found myself increasingly more interested in paleontology and prehistoric life. It's an interest I've held intensely since I was little, but my passion for it was reignited sometime in the fall and it's now the one thing I can truly see myself doing and being happy. So, this summer, I'm going to go to Colorado, Utah, or Montana to learn more about the field and perhaps get some expert advice on how to enter it.

2. Before I finish college (and grad school - there's lots of classes to take for paleontology!) I'd love to travel to another continent. My interest for leaving the US is about as much as the next guy; I'd like to, but haven't really yet (I am going to Canada with my mom sometime this year, however). My main reason for traveling beyond the borders is, once again, dinosaurs. China, in particular, would be a spectacular place to visit, as many feathered dinosaurs and early bird specimens are there, but there are also many fossils in Europe and Africa that I'd love to see as well. If I do end up committing to paleontology, I'd love to go out of the country at least once to gain some experience with foreign dinosaurs. However, in my opinion, American dinosaurs are still the coolest. Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, Brontosaurus... all the best ones are pretty much here.

3. Before I'm dead, I'd like to write a book. While this appears to pertain to writing (which I am still moderately interested in), I'd love to write a book about dinosaurs. If and once I establish a paleontology career (I'm not really aiming to be the most famous or most influential), I want to write a book that potentially introduces some of the more complex ideas of dinosaurs and paleontology to the public in a digestible manner. One idea for a book in particular of this nature would be a walk-through of the entire dinosaur family tree. I could guide the reader through each known type of dinosaur, each order, superfamily, family, subfamily, clade, genus and species, filled with accurate reconstructions (drawings of what we think they looked like), potentially by me, and up-to-date knowledge and classifications that any starry-eyed kid or professor could use as an easily navigable resource. I feel like that would be an excellent way to express my love for paleontology, writing, and drawing. Hopefully, though, I can make enough money off of it all...