Every experience has added value to where and who I am today, including active family engagement throughout my journey. From interviews with local flatfishers covering Kaikoura to Te Waewae Bay, to gathering local ecological knowledge for fisheries plans, to diving wild, natural environments in Nugget Point and Fiordland collecting subtidal data; very seldom are any two days in the field the same. Unexpectedly, the interpretation and communication of this data in a meaningful way, to enable others to experience the captivating underwater realm as I see it, is perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of all.