SNIPPETS III

3 days ago
5 min read

Tavishi

Hi! So I fell off the face of the earth for a little... I got really swept up in end of year stuff. Also, I'm in Niagara Falls right now? For the next two months? I was in Phoenix briefly, but yeah.

I'm very confused time-wise. Rest assured, I didn't forget about Kradigan! Anyways, I guess it's like, a tradition now. to make a snippets post at the end of term. Wow! Without further ado...

APRIL

The majority of April was spent on placement at the zoo, and in preparation for my second term exams.

On April 21st, however, I lost one of my dearest friends from high school- Ben. Everyone who had the privilege of knowing him has been mourning him the past few months. It is an unimaginable and profound loss for us all.

My first year of college came with a lot of grieving- between 2025 and 2026, I lost so many people I loved- my Nana, my Dadi, my beloved cat Billy, Miss Millee, and most recently, Ben.

I have learned that grief does not go away- it lingers. It's an uncomfortable, unsettling feeling that stays with you forever. Through the past year, I've realized that I don't want it to go away.

Sometimes, it can be incapacitating to mourn. But I would rather mourn than forget. I think it is beautiful when grief turns into fondness and memory. I will forever wish that my loved ones could stay with me forever, but that isn't how time works. I only have so much time with those who surround me, and even if I wish I could freeze time, I can't.

I am learning to find joy in the present, and to carry bits of the past forward with me.

I wish that those I have lost could be there with me today, but what stays with me are their stories, their teachings, and most of all, their love. I memorialize those who have passed by taking the best of them with me everywhere.

For my Nana, I eat a banana a day and make my bed every morning (the state of your bed is the state of your head). For my Dadi, I've picked up embroidery again, just like she taught me. For Miss Millee, I draw, I paint, and I create.

And for Ben, I bought a camera.

Ben and I had a bickering friendship, made up of teasing and practical jokes. Ben was funny to no end. Regardless, Ben was genuine- he was never afraid to show emotion or vulnerability. And he had an amazing talent for photography. I loved seeing all the cool stuff he did with a camera, and I loved seeing the world through his eyes.

I don't have Ben's skill- it was honed and practiced. But I bought an Olympus digital camera from a local used camera store, so that I could carry on his legacy. I hope that I can find a piece of him somehow. Ben, I'm sorry that I have no better photos of you, but here's you from our goofy calculus rap video from sophomore year:

A befitting line from Catullus 101: "atque in perpetuum, frāter, avē atque valē." Translated into English, it reads, "and forever, brother, hail, and farewell."

edit: forgot to write this when I originally posted. Thank you, Anwita, for giving me someone to mourn and grieve with. I'm glad we're talking so much again. Death is awful, but it brings people together.

MAY

In May, I'd escaped the weight of exams, and was learning how to continue to live with this grief. And so, I escaped to the woods:

Nature fixes a LOT. We didn't see too much cool wildlife, but we spent maybe ~40% of the time looking at a single pair of magpies through binoculars. Turns out that 3 students at Animal School™️are easily impressed by a bird.

Besides, I love magpies. I love all corvids, but magpies are some of my favorites. They are SO pretty- I love the black and blue patterning. I like to think my hair looks like a magpie. I am a shiny little corvid.

(Also, those photos were taken on my camera)

Every time we see a magpie, my friend Jasmine and I try to say the scientific name of the bird before the other person- it's our little insider game. (The scientific name of the Eurasian magpie is Pica pica.)

I love scientific names that are just the same word repeated!!! There's actually a term for this- a tautonym! Other tautonyms include Vulpes vulpes, Rutilus rutilus, Boops boops, and Melolontha melolontha.

I also went to the London zoo. A lot. For one of my classes, I did a group project on Ebolavirus in primates. By the way- this is so freaking cool. I love wildlife population health and epidemiology!

Anyways, my group wanted to do further research by going to the zoo (we did no research, we just looked at cool animals)

Please enjoy these camera photos again, and how this scarlet ibis looks like it is wearing my friend's hat.

I think my pet peeve might be when small children shout the wrong name at a zoo animal. This kid kept calling the scarlet ibis a flamingo. Another called the giant salamander an axolotl.

When I was on placement, someone called the lynx a TIGER.

I'm currently interning at an aquarium (trust, there will be a post about this soon), and I help with the sea lion shows. When people call our lovely, gorgeous sea lions SEALS I want to rip my hair and theirs out. I do not care if you are four years old and can't read. Know the difference or don't come to the aquarium. SMH.

(for legal reasons, this a joke).

I also handled some birds at a raptor handling session! It was incredible. I really enjoyed talking about the veterinary care of birds.

I am currently working with penguins and pinnipeds at my internship, and am very aware how little I know about birds. I know bumblefoot is an issue, which is why birds need a variety of perching textures. AVIAN INFLUENZA!!! Bad :(

That's about it.

Did you know the internal temperature of a humboldt penguin is 102 degrees F? Crazy.

One of my lovely, lovely flatmates this year and one of my closest friends from uni, Lynn, is really, really into birds. Shout out to Lynn, we love you! [insert Lynn photo]

Also, I played a lot of minecraft with my friends Jasmine and Cecelia this year. It went... interesting at times. I'm really bad at staying alive during minecraft.

JUNE

June was 2 weeks of working on my final paper, which was about disease in wildlife populations and endangered species! Please let me know if anyone wants to read about this.

During June, I enjoyed London to its fullest potential- I fell back in love with the buildings, the canals, and the birds. I love the architecture and museums here.