Dolphin Dreaming by Robin

Dolphin Dreaming by Robin - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

Nine years ago I read a book titled "Into the Blue" by Ben M. Baglio. It is the first book in a series called Dolphin Diaries. The main character in these books is a young girl named Jody McGrath. Her parents are both marine biologists and they are on an expedition to travel all around the world and study all kinds of dolphins for a year and Jody and her brothers go with them. Jody loves dolphins, knows everything about them, and wants to become a marine biologist just like her parents. These books tell all of the adventures they go on and all about the different dolphins they encounter.

When I read the book for the first time I was around the same age Jody was and I too had a huge fascination and love for dolphins. This made it very easy to relate to everything that was going on in the book and I envied her. Every day she got to wake up and look out on the ocean and scuba dive with wild dolphins. She wanted to learn everything about them and dedicate her life to helping them. Reading this book was when I realized I could do that too. Up until that point I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life (after all, I was only nine). I have always loved dolphins and the ocean but I didn’t know that I could make a career out of that until I read "Into the Blue".

Ever since then I would answer, “Marine biologist,” whenever I was asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My mom always told me I would change my mind fifty times between then and the time I went to college, but I never did. Now I am a senior in high school graduating in May. I am enrolled in Coastal Carolina University and plan to go there in the fall with a major in marine science. Jody’s dreams have become mine and I finally have the chance to live them.