How a Marine Biology Student Gave Me a 10 Year Old Habit
Back when I was starting university in August of 2015, I remember sitting in my Communications 101 class, with a professor that was close to retiring that he was pretty lax and was ready to yeet himself out the door, listening to my classmates do presentations.
One after another, I was bored out of my mind waiting for class to finish so I could go to my dorm to play Vain Glory, this was the Korean equivalent of League of Legends, except one presentation stood out to me that day.
I remember he was a tall skinny Asian local boy born and raised in the same state as me, except he was a Marine Biology student, whereas I was in Engineering at the time.
So, there’s a lot of trash and pollution in our oceans and our economy is especially dependent on the ocean for food and for our tourism sights. This Marine Major brought a plastic straw sleeve and a picture of a fish to demonstrate that a lot of fish are found dead because they swallow debris believing it’s food.
Anyways, the boy demonstrated for his presentation that, if we were to tie the straw covers, then even if a fish swallowed a straw sleeve, the knot would still allow room for water, food, and oxygen to enter through the fish’s maw.
Therefore, preventing them from getting dying prematurely outside getting caught by hooks and nets and yanked out of the water.
Why Are You Telling This Story?
I’m sharing this story because, a decade later, I’m still tying little knots in whatever I can get my hands on because of this boy’s presentation.
Why did I keep this up?
That’s a great question!
I don’t know why.
I can’t remember why the presentation convinced 19 year old me to make tying knots in plastic my 29 year old self’s new compulsive habit. Yes, it’s compulsive because my brain won’t let me eat in peace or leave the table until I tied a knot in my straw covers or chopstick sleeve, despite them being wrapped in paper.
Yet, she never got social confirmation that reinforced this habit, nor feedback that this habit of hers was helping.
It became something she did, that I do, even when meaning is lost.
