With just six short days left to go until Lobby Day, I can hardly stand the anticipation. As someone who has never visited our Capitol, let alone taken part in any kind of lobbying, I am excited to attend - yet I’m still not quite sure what to expect. I am very familiar with the environmental priorities, but I still wanted to know more.

In an attempt to better prepare myself for the big day I did my research. By research, I mean I googled, “environmental lobby day 2009”, and asked every person I know if they attended the event.

I found out that Lobby Day is FUN. Every person I spoke to said Lobby Day is a blast because it brings together citizens who feel motivated and empowered to change Washington State for the better.

I learned that there may or may not be singing. A few people I have spoken to say the bus down to Olympia has been known to break out into song.

And, Lobby Day is long. Fellow Bellinghamsters such as myself will be starting their journey at 5:30am and traveling south for about three hours. Once there, Lobby Day activities should commence promptly and end around 6pm, then it’s back to Bellingham.

Conducting my “research” really got me thinking: how did I become an activist and more importantly, an environmentalist? Two years ago I could never imagine myself mentally preparing for Environmental Lobby Day and I most definitely wouldn’t imagine myself as a communication intern for People For Puget Sound. In fact, two years ago I was actually a perfectly content sophomore in the Psychology program at Western Washington University. So what happened? How did I go from spending my Saturdays leisurely snowboarding, to spending by weekends volunteering in habitat restoration projects?

Well, I know exactly what led me down my eco-friendly path. The first, and most influential of the three, was my accidental enrollment into Oceans 101 (I really wanted to register for Geology, but it was full). My professor was Jennifer Jacquet, a postdoctoral researcher who works side by side with world renowned marine biologist, Dr. Daniel Pauly, at the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre. Her class opened my eyes to the world of marine issues including overfishing, acidification and climate change. She especially emphasized local problems regarding Puget Sound.

This was a shock! What do you mean Puget Sound is unhealthy?! I had spent my entire life in Everett, on the shores of Puget Sound, taking daily walks down to Howarth Park, and had never known how unhealthy my childhood playground had been. In conjunction with my Oceans 101 class, two small, somewhat insignificant events, also occurred and heightened my marine interest:

I found a dead sea lion on the shores of Howarth Park and watched as Parks and Recreation authority taped off the area from humans because the animal’s diet may have rendered it potentially hazardous.

I also read in the paper that actor Jeremy Piven had actually been hospitalized for mercury poisoning after ingesting California sushi on a daily basis. Silly, and unfortunate, yet eye opening.

With my class, a dead sea lion and mercury poisoning resonating in my mind, I became exceptionally aggravated and 100% motivated. Towards the end of the quarter I marched myself into Professor Jacquet’s office and asked her pointblank, “How do I make a difference?”  I told her I felt distraught because I was no good at Biology and I would probably make a lousy politician. Her words that day, as corny as it sounds, not only changed my academic focus entirely, but also changed my perception of what is truly important in life.

She gave me two pieces of advice. She said, first of all, I should volunteer wherever I can.  Secondly, she explained that the environmental community had enough biologists. What they really needed were people who could speak to the masses, people who could decode scientific jargon into something everyone could understand, and people who could motivate others into action. The next day I woke up a Communication major.

So, here I am. Six days away from my first Environmental Lobby Day. I’m sure I’ll have more to say after January 26.