Week 9:
New Eyes

August 9, 2016

This week I had a pretty different schedule, because….MY BEST FRIEND VISITED ME!! She lives in Oregon and we don’t get to visit each other much. Ever since we first became friends it’s been our dream to go to Harry Potter World in Universal together. So, with me being in Orlando, we decided to take the opportunity while we had it.

On Monday morning I went in to SeaWorld at 8am and then headed towards the airport to pick up 7th-12th grade resident campers that would be spending the week at SeaWorld. We took them back to the park in the afternoon and checked in the rest of the driving campers, ate dinner, saw the Shamu nighttime show, and went to sleep amongst gliding sea turtles and chirping manatees. It was magical, as sleepovers by the animals always are.

The next morning I clocked out at 8am (a 24 hour shift) and went to pick up Mckinley from the airport. We had tons of plans, seeing as there’s so much to do in Orlando. That night we walked around Disney springs, then went to bed early in preparation for our day at Universal…

The first day was absolutely magical, as it’s supposed to be. We were at the park from 8am to 10pm!! Even though I’d been to Universal before, it was so cool to see the park through her eyes and experience it again. Of course, being absolute Harry Potter nerds, we dressed up and did a photoshoot around Hogwarts.

The next day was my birthday, which, of course, we spent at SeaWorld. It was so cool to be able to show someone I’m so close to around the park. Mckinley has always supported my dream of working with animals and been so excited for me at every progression of my career. She had also never seen a dolphin or killer whale up close, and it was amazing to be able to show her that for the first time.

Showing Mckinley around the park really reminded me why SeaWorld is so incredibly important. Without places like SeaWorld, most people would never see a killer whale or beluga in their entire lives. Zoos and aquariums give people the opportunity to connect with these amazing animals in ways that are simply impossible anywhere else. These connections directly influence how people treat our oceans and our planet as a whole. If you think about Stitch the sea turtle, who only has one flipper, choking on a plastic bag every time you go to the grocery store, I guarantee your use of plastic will go down. I know mine has.

These animals will remain so important to me for the remainder of my life. I’ll think of them every time I use reusable bags instead of plastic, when I buy locally instead of shipped, and when I choose no-meat or sustainable options. Anyone who believes SeaWorld isn’t educating or conserving our planet hasn’t paid close enough attention.