Who Am I Anyway?

I come from a religiously and politically conservative community in West Texas, one that sometimes associates leftist views with environmentalism. When I started college, I encountered scientific and liberal ideology that contrasted heavily with the way I was raised. These two, science and religion, were equally assertive and starkly opposing views. They pushed me in opposite directions. To overcome this ideological conflict, I began seeking a way to uncover commonalities between these seemingly disparate parties. I see similar consensus building as my future career – a role that takes the shape of environmental economics – where I can be a conduit between polarized groups, my way of seeking the equilibrium of human luxury and environmental protection.

As an undergraduate, I look to several different mediums to amalgamate my seemingly mutually exclusive interests. In the summer of 2014, I was able to truly combine my environmental studies and economics backgrounds by my participation in an Applied Economics Field School in Zimbabwe, and in the spring of 2015, I was able to spend the semester studying through School for Field Studies' Coastal and Marine Resource Studies program in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Through these experiences, I've been able to further articulate my worldview that, for quite some time, was convoluted to me. 

Watching a White Rhino in Matopos, Zimbabwe

Being silly in front of the world's widest waterfall, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Socializing with kiddos from the primary school in Limpopo, Zimbabwe

A photograph with a hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, with Christina after night turtling in South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands

Scuba diving at The Spanish Chain, South Caicos, TCI

The extraordinary sunsets of TCI.

With this blog, I hope to bring my opinions and ideas to fruition and share environmental news with a large audience. I've learned the hard way that having mass communications experience is important in being a competitive candidate for internships.

The title, Musings of a Hippie Economist, is merely a cute way to express the uniqueness of my position. By no means am I interested in labeling myself as a certain type of human being, but I am fond of ways to extend a notion of who I am through humor. My blog, whether revered or dismissed, is a representation of who I am and is a place to share current events and things I learn. I appreciate your support in my endeavor of starting my first blog!