the point of a list

a life list serves as a way for an individual to catalogue the species that they encounter in their travels, whether it's on a bike ride to the corner store or a camping trip up in the mountains.

like many kids my age, i grew up playing pokémon. i loved catching frogs and bugs down by the neighborhood creek, watching birds gather at the feeder, seeing deer run through the yard at dawn and dusk - pokémon felt like an extension of that love, while at the same time a key force driving it forward.

the concept of a pokédex fascinated me. recording, classifying, and sorting a list of species as you encounter them, a steady, deliberate work that reflects your own journeys and growth.

i started really taking my lifelist seriously last summer after graduating from university and moving across the country. it was a lot of change, in a short amount of time.

everyone has their own personal reasons, but ultimately i needed a way to remember everything worth remembering in my life, and this has been my attempt at that.

i really only get a few fleeting moments with the creatures of the earth, and i want to savor those moments as much as possible.

if you want to see my google sheet that i have set up w/ custom scripting to autofetch latin names, conservation statuses, and iNaturalist images, i have that linked below, and i'll have the individual species listed on this page under their own headers below as well. ty for visiting, i'll have a contact form set up soon enough where all are free to send messages!

my lifelist !!