MY MONTHS IN COSTA RICA

1. Animals have always been important in my life, starting with a birthday gift of five goldfish in a small tank when I was five years old. Throughout my childhood and teenage years I shared my life with a series of family cats and dogs. It therefore seemed inevitable that I would train to be a veterinary surgeon. I was accepted onto a course at one of the best veterinary colleges in Europe. However, all the studying and exam pressure had taken their toll and I just wasn't ready to start the course straight away after finishing school. So I decided to take a year off. But I had no idea how to spend that year. I couldn't sit back and do nothing. Should I travel with a friend, get a part-time job, learn something new? People suggested different ideas, but none of them appealed to me. All I knew was that I didn't want to waste the year and then think, 'Oh, I wish I'd done that.... or gone there...."

2. The solution came in a social media post. One of my best friends, Jenna, went on holiday with her family to Mexico for two weeks. She posted the normal pictures of herself in cafés, herself on the beautiful white beach sunbathing - you know the kind! I loved the one of a crocodile swimming up to her lakeside table at a restaurant! But then I saw the photo that helped me make my decision, and I guess changed my life in many ways. The photo was of her open hand with a tiny, baby sea turtle on it. Her post explained that one of the hotel activities had been helping to carry baby turtles from their nests on the beach to the sea. The reason was that every year many of them were taken by sea birds while they made that perilous short journey to the water.

3. The idea of going to a popular tourist resort didn't attract me, but the conservation idea did. So I went online to find out more. Statistics showed that sea turtles are becoming rarer and rarer. I started checking out volunteer programmes and then I found an amazing opportunity in Costa Rica! The local people work hard to protect the large female sea turtles, their eggs and the babies from poachers who catch them to sell illegally. Their dedication won me over. Before I knew it I was walking along white sandy beaches, looking at breathtaking scenery. In the UK I don't live in a busy, noisy area with vibrant night life. My parents' house is in quite an isolated village. However, the peace and quiet of the remote Costa Rican coast was something else! There's an atmosphere on the island that completely relaxes you and I felt the pressures of all the studying and exams just faded away.

4. I also became fascinated by the turtles. Every night we patrolled the beaches to scare off poachers and to find the nests. We moved eggs to a protected area so that they couldn't be stolen. Then when the eggs hatched we helped the babies get to the sea. I shall never, ever forget standing on a beach in full moonlight, the clear sky dotted with stars, watching a huge female turtle walk slowly out of the sea, up the beach and lay her eggs. They are really magnificent animals and it would be terrible if the damage to their numbers was irreversible.

5. All too soon my volunteering months were over and now I'm getting ready for college. I'm feeling so much better about getting back to studies again than I did a year ago. I also now have a clear idea of what I want to do with my life after college. My plan is to work with an international wildlife vets organisation. It trains local vets in different countries to help with conservation projects. So, I'm really grateful to Jenna for posting that particular photo. If I hadn't seen it I would never have had such a wonderful, life-changing experience. Thanks Jenna!