My History With Jane Goodall
If you know me then you know how much I love Jane Goodall. Recently, the Jane Goodall Institute asked for stories from people who have been inspired by her work. She turned 86 on April 3rd, and since 2020 would be a strange year for celebrating, they decided this would be a great way to honor Jane.
It’s been a long time since I’ve written about Jane, so I thought what the heck, why not share my story about a woman who has inspired me for 30 years. We can all make a difference in the world through our choices and even be an inspiration to others along the way. This my story; I hope you enjoy it!
My Story
I was ten years old the first time I ever heard of Jane Goodall. Much of my youth was spent nose down in one book or another and I especially loved to read stories about people. So, it was no surprise when I was in the library one afternoon, I picked up My Life with Chimpanzees and couldn’t put it down. I knew from that moment that this woman would have a profound effect on my life. She was a role model that came to me at the right time when I didn’t even realize I needed or wanted one. Little did I know just how much I would have in common with this remarkable woman, including, sharing the same birthday.
After reading this book, my young mind went to town on all the ways I could do work just like Jane Goodall; I wanted to help the chimpanzees and I wanted to make a mark on the world. My inspiration was unstoppable and I decided to write a letter to Jane after finding her address at the back of the book. I was tremendously excited by the idea of getting a response from someone that I admired so greatly. I remember writing the letter, sending it off, and then waiting with anticipation for what she would say. You can imagine my shock when the letter came back with a return to sender or no such address! I was devastated and broken-hearted. I decided that maybe that was not the dream I wanted to pursue after all, and for 9 years I left the dream behind, almost completely forgetting about Jane and her incredible story.
When I entered college in the fall of 1998, I had all but given up on becoming anything like Jane and I was pursuing a degree in Sociology with a concentration in Criminal Justice. It wasn’t until I heard that a special speaker was coming to campus that I even remembered my long-forgotten dream. Jane Goodall came to Longwood University (Longwood College at the time) in my freshman year; however I, still being broken-hearted, decided not to go. Then at the last minute, I changed my mind and tried to get in, but there was no room left. Once again, there I was, devastated. I ended up leaving college that same year having no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I decided to try my hand in the workforce and I was happy, at least for a bit.
Life does have a funny way of working itself out and coming full circle. In the fall of 2007, after working in unfulfilling jobs, I went back to school. I had met the girl that I would later marry the year prior and we had inspired each other to chase our dreams. She had ideas of becoming a marine biologist or National Geographic photographer and I wanted to be an environmentalist. We were going to start at community college and then transfer to a four-year college. I planned to pursue a degree in Environmental Science.
One of the first courses I took at community college was the History of African Civilization (that same semester I also took African drumming) and of course, we were asked to pick a partner to do a presentation. The only guidelines were that it had to involve the history of Africa in some way. I remember trying to come up with a topic, when it hit me, Jane Goodall had a tremendous amount to do with African history. The more research I did, the more I learned about how Jane’s work involved so many other aspects than just chimpanzees; she had extended her work to help the people and land as well. Believing that you could not help one thing without helping the other and that we are all connected; she started Roots and Shoots, a program that teaches kids the importance of sustainability, protecting our environment, and how to grow food. Jane had also written several more books and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them.
When my project partner agreed to do the presentation on Jane Goodall, I couldn’t have been more thrilled! We decided we would angle it from the perspective of Jane. My partner would play Jane addressing an audience regarding her life’s work and I would be the one introducing her. We got really into it, dressed up, and even got a baby chimp stuffed animal. We received an A+ for our work and had a blast doing it! During this time, I realized I wanted to do something more than just Environmental Science. So almost immediately, I changed my degree to Sustainable Community Development (with a concentration in Environmental Science). After that, I started acquiring and reading all of Jane’s books that I had missed out on.
Once I got to Prescott College, I was back in the business of being inspired by Jane and I wanted to, again, make my mark on the world. I shared her work with anyone I met, anyone who would listen and wrote papers on her books every chance I got and my teachers could feel the passion behind my words. I was on top of the world! The only trouble was that once I graduated, the job search wasn’t as easy as I had anticipated. After applying for several government environmental jobs and numerous failed attempts became disheartened and decided it just wasn’t my time and determined that my degree was a huge achievement in itself and maybe that was enough.
I went back to work for 9 more years, working for others but largely giving up on my dream yet again, until last year in April of 2019 when I decided enough was enough. I wanted to thrive, not just survive, and I couldn’t do that working in an unfulfilling job making money for other people. Something was missing, I wanted something more, to help others and make a difference in the world. My sister and I had always dreamed of starting a business that would have a positive impact on others. We had so many ideas but just never could quite figure out where to focus them. So, in October of 2019, we started a website called www.apocalypticsisters.com, a place where we could share our stories and hopefully inspire others to do the same. We wanted it to be filled with hope, love, environmentalism, and everything in between, a place where people could come to get a dose of what they need and leave feeling uplifted and refreshed.
Our Earth is now moving through unprecedented times, the Coronavirus Pandemic creating uncertainty on one hand, but a much-needed pause on the other. I am turning 40 tomorrow and strangely, I’ve never felt better, even with all that is going on in the world. This last week has been a time of great reflection for me and a time to come back to myself. I have spent more time recently than I have in years walking in nature, planting a garden, reading, writing, sharing, cooking, and laughing with my wife.
Jane Goodall has always been an inspiration to me and even though I may never get to do the kind of work she does, that’s okay because we all have our job to do. Besides, there is only one Jane anyway! I understand we each have a role to play, we are all connected, and we are all needed now more than ever.
I now realize that what is truly inspiring to me about Jane Goodall is the fact that when she began her work, she couldn’t have known the tremendous impact she would have on the world, but instead, she was just doing what she loved. She shines so brightly because she listens to the call of her soul. How can you not be lit on fire and inspired by that! Jane gives us permission to be ourselves and to do the work we love, work that is important to us. It wasn’t always easy for her, coming in as a young woman and making her way in the world but she never gave up and I think that is the message she spreads. We all have a part to play and we must not ever give up on our hopes, no matter what we face. This is so important, especially now, because now is the time to create our Harvest for Hope. Society has been living disconnected for a long time and it isn’t until we take a step back and recognize that we can’t help one thing without helping the other that we can truly begin to live. We are all one!
Happy Birthday Jane and thank you for all the work you do!
Love Always,
Casey
-written by Casey Allison
-
Felix and Cosima snuck into the coop on cleaning day -
Ashley weeding around the herb beds and Cosima in an action shot -
Homemade pizza, yum! -
Cucumbers and peppers in the garden -
Percy laying in the backyard -
Providence and Talulah pecking the freshly broad forked garden bed
I believe we are being called right now, at this time, to raise our vibrations and the vibration of the planet. Let’s heal ourselves, our world, remember what is important to us, and let our lights shine.
To check out the awesome work that Jane Goodall continues to do and for ways, you can get involved, visit www.janegoodall.org. We need you!