If you were an alien, stepping foot on planet Earth for the first time, what would be the first thing you’d notice? For me, it would be the plants. Hundreds of flowers, leaves, branches, and buds we scarcely notice each day. How often do the plants you pass by fade into a background of green and brown? Do you ever stop to notice just how many different types of leaves or flowers you see around you? The plant world is vast and filled with questions – some that we know the answers to and many more still waiting to be unravelled.
I have always loved exploring these questions. I have always loved science, academia, books, and knowing things, just for the sake of knowing them. I’m interested in exploring questions about the natural world, interacting with plants and animals, and using everything I learn in creative projects. So, I study botany, the science of plants. I compare many different species to understand what makes them different and how their environments have shaped them. By comparing plant traits, I can investigate the features that allow plants to survive tough conditions like drought, heat, frost, and fire, without being able to move away like an animal might.
I am also a lover of stories, and I use my knowledge of biology to create new worlds within the fantasy stories I write. The more knowledge I have about everything around me, the more I have to write about. What better way to create my own fictional worlds than to learn everything I can about how our world works? So, I study the differences in plant species, in the hopes of creating believable fantasy ecosystems, to give life to worlds that only exist in my mind.
It’s such a joy to be able to look around at the world and understand what I see, to know about the inner workings of plants and how they came to be what they are today. There are always more questions out there to ask, and I have found science the best way to explore everything I have ever found myself curious about.
