Leslie is quite a different child in some ways and just like other kids in other ways.  Like other kids her age, she’s becoming independent and stubborn.  She has friends that she looks forward to hanging out with.  She likes music, dancing and cheerleading.  She is growing up and learning.  However, there are some things about her that make her quite different from other children.

First of all, she has a very strong faith and she loves to share it.  She is happy any time she gets to talk about God, the Bible, the Sabbath Day and why she worships on the Sabbath instead of Sunday.  She frequently asks others if they are Christians and will come home talking about someone she found out was a Christian.

Leslie saw the welcome dolphin immdiately.

She is also dolphin obsessed.  She is a child on a mission and won’t let anything stop her from reaching her goals.  Leslie has been obsessed with dolphins for as long as I can remember.  When she was 18 months old, she talked about buggas.  It took us a while, but we finally learned that buggas were dolphins.  I figured it was a passing phase.  So many children have things that they are interested in for a while, then they grow out of them.  I didn’t realize that her love for dolphins would become an obsession as she got older.  Now at 8 years old, she still has a love for dolphins.  She is determined that when she grows up, she will become a dolphin trainer and work with dolphins.

Since she her love of dolphins hasn’t diminished as she has gotten older, we are now determined to do everything we can to help her reach her goal of becoming a dolphin trainer.  We have discussed the importance of doing well in school so she can go on to college and study biology, zoology and/or marine biology, any of which will help her reach her goal.

We have talked to her about learning to swim well as it’s important for her to be a strong swimmer in order to reach her goals.  She also knows that she will have to become scuba certified.  We have talked a little bit about what scuba diving is, however she has a few years before she can do so.  We have found out that there are places out there that will work with children as young as 10, so in a couple years, we will help her with that.

She also has to be physically fit.  This child already loves to walk and run.  This year she is participating in Girls On The Run and is the only 3rd grader.  She is also easily meeting her goals and outrunning the 5th graders in the group.  As a matter of fact, one of the 5th graders commented that Leslie has “too much energy.”  She walks to and from school daily, weather permitting.  If I would let her, she would even walk to school when it’s raining outside, however, I don’t want her to be wet while at school, so she doesn’t get to.

Dolphin trainers need to be good at public speaking.  She has no issues there, as she loves to speak up during class and has even “helped” teach other kids who struggle more in school.  Last year, her teacher commented that she was impressed with Leslie’s skills in encouraging others to do their best and when she was helping out during group time, Leslie was the only child who would call on the students who don’t raise their hands, encouraging them to speak up and try.  She’s not afraid to speak up and let her thoughts known either.

We have also tried to find any available opportunities for her to learn more about dolphins and other marine animals.  Just last spring, she was given the opportunity to get a behind the scenes view of Newport Aquarium through a career initiative program where kids get to see just what it’s like to work at an aquarium.  During her experience, she learned about DNA and the person guiding her through the program said that she was a very inquisitive child and that Leslie took everything in and asked questions that she doesn’t usually get out of children at that age.  She also said that when they did the DNA project, Leslie did perfect and that she did better than the 5th grade group she had the day before. The next program that I want Leslie to take there is the Women in STEM.  I think that she will enjoy it too.

We also try to find any opportunity for her to see real dolphins.  When we went to Florida, she got to see Winter the dolphin.  This was the first time she got to see a real dolphin.  She was entranced with the dolphins at Clearwater Aquarium.  You can read about it here.

Then she got to go with some friends to the Indianapolis Zoo and guess what she saw.  Dolphins!  They have a dolphin show there and she came back so excited about it.  Then just recently, we went as a family to the Indianapolis Zoo and so she got to see the dolphins again!  She was just so entranced, I thing she would have moved in there, just so she could be close to the dolphins.  You can read about that trip here.

As you can see, this is a child who is so dolphin obsessed and knows exactly what she wants to do with her life.  I hope that things go well for her and that her goals continue to be met as she continues to grow.

Do you have a child who has something that they love or obsessed about?  Tell me about them!