the journal of literature and the arts at saint david ’ s school
Pursuing Curiosity Personal Narrative
I was sitting at my desk , completing some of my homework one day during the spring of fifth grade , and in an instant , a few mundane moments turned into pure elation . I learned that my maternal grandfather had secured spots for my mom and me to sit in on a lecture by the renowned world primatologist Jane Goodall . As a fan of the natural world , I had read about Jane Goodall ’ s life in various National Geographic issues . I couldn ’ t wait to learn more about her and her work with chimpanzees .
Jane Goodall was born in the UK in 1934 , with a curious mind and a compassionate personality . Right after graduating from university , she knew that she wanted to work with animals and explained this to her mother . Even though her mom felt like Jane might be too young to travel alone , she believed in Jane ’ s convictions and reserved a ticket on a boat for her to travel to Tanzania , Africa , where she could pursue her passion . During her research , one particular animal caught her eye — a chimpanzee . She was fascinated by the creature , its social interactions , and the fact that chimps were so similar to humans . At that time chimpanzees were being used in experiments with untested vaccines and other treatments to see if they would work on humans . Of course , through this process , many chimps died , resulting in half the population diminishing in under a decade . People had tried to come together to stop this from happening , but nothing got done . It became Jane Goodall ’ s goal and life ’ s work not only to research chimps but also to help protect them .
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