What Ancient Invasive Species Can Tell Us About Modern Ones w/Dr. Alycia Stigall | GEO GIRL

[@tylerwilson7506]

Such a boss move to say “we need a framework to think about this… so I developed a framework.” At around 10:00 So inspiring! Love this interview!

[@haseo8244]

Heck Vinlandostrophia got starting about Decorah formation which is earlier than richmondian. It looks much smaller and less common by comparation.

[@ronkirk5099]

I've heard that a rule of thumb for modern invasive species is that for every 100 invasive species either accidentally or purposely introduced only about 10 become established, but don't expand their range and only 1 expands its' range and out competes and displaces native species. It is the RATE at which humans are moving species around willy nilly that is troubling to me. Things like kudzu and gypsy moths can devastate whole biomes.

[@Dragrath1]

You are right that the rate is a huge problem and the main reason things have gotten so bad. That said another factor that matters is the speed of dispersal for example taking the two species you mentioned gypsy moths(now renamed spongy moths) arrived in the 1860's and can spread at about 2 to 20 km per year depending on circumstances with control measures having reduced it to around 4 km per year and consequently have thus far only spread through New England into parts of the great lakes and mid Atlantic, despite having been here for several hundred years since some idiot comes and brought them into New England, with them still slowly spreading out, it generally doesn't completely wipe out trees effected unless they are already stressed making it less severe than some other introduced pests. Kudzu arrived in the 1870's and they basically have colonized all the temperate forest biomes which don't have regular enough hard frosts to prevent their establishment and yeah it is absolutely devastating. Then conversely you have fast invaders like the emerald ash bore which was first detected in the US in 2002 though it appears had likely first arrived from eastern Asia in the late 1980's into the great lakes region and then has exploded across the continent wiping out all the native ash trees on the continent and even pathologizing other native plants in the larger olive and lilac family(Oleaceae) to a degree after wiping out ash species. I also learned when looking up the specific facts that this menace was introduced to Europe near Moscow in 2003 and has spread outwards at a rate of 40 km per year and is in the process of likewise wiping out European ash trees with the prediction being it will likely reach central Europe in the mid 2030's, the beetle is native to NE Asia so like NA European ash trees are unadapted to face this pest. In effect this beetle has in 40 years effectively wiped out a formerly diverse northern hemisphere cosmopolitan hard wood genus of trees reducing the genus of 65 species to the few species that have coevolved with it with some documented infestations of olive species namely the American fringe tree and the European/Mediterranean olive(though the beetle has not yet reached the main olive cultivation zones or the indigenous range) In comparison it makes Kudzu and Spongy moths look like slow invaders.

[@thedoctor2102]

I don’t want to be provocative, putting out mind the for now the garbage filled cesspool we all have created for ourselves on and all around this rock. Lets say hypothetically that an advanced extra terrestrial civilisation finds us, this particular species has a concerning large number of predatory traits, habitual behaviours and mindsets (and attitudes towards vital resources) very akin to us humans. What do you think the next few stages of “evolution” could go us.?

[@Dragrath1]

So it appears my long detailed evidence based message about invasive species was stealth censored/deleted by KZbin but the broad summary I had was comparing the rate of spreading of various invasive species i.e. dispersal and how that impacts the destructive potential of invaders. I.e. Gypsy moths have been greatly slowed in their spread while the Emerald Ash borer has gone unchecked spreading across North America and western Eurasia wiping out all Ash trees in their path and even having been documented attacking the related olive family plants(European olive and the American fringe tree) with a rate of spreading of over 40km per year. Otherwise yeah though I probably should add that ecological disturbance/disruption is another critical factor affecting the rate of successful introductions, there is a county park (Elenore C Lawrence park near Dulles international Airport VA) where I live in Northern VA where there is a clear distinction between a plot of land which has not been disturbed since the civil war timeframe (100+ yrs since the forest was last cut down or disturbed i.e. a comparatively old growth remnant) which is practically devoid of invasive species and the much more recently disturbed sections of forest (50 to 30 years since disturbance) which are infested with invasive. You can literally see where the old fence line was with the old mature oaks on the older side of the boundary leaning out towards what was then open fields. Practically no plant invaders are found on the older side of the former land boundary while the younger side is full of them including dense tangled networks of invasive vines.

[@Dragrath1]

Ok reply has been censored/deleted twice which is getting ridiculous. Down to bullet points: Some invaders spread faster than others i.e. Emerald Ash borer versus Gypsy/Spongey moth. Among invasive plants soil disturbance appears to be key as well with a regional park Elenor C Lawrence park under the Fairfax part authority has a boundary between the old civil war era forest line where it was too steep for the union troops to cut down the trees on the embankment. You can clearly see where this line was based not only on where the old mature oaks are leaning out into the former clearing but in that all the invasive plant root systems appear to be on the younger regrowth forest side of the boundary. We frequently disturb our environments not just bringing things around with us this is an additional key factor it is hard for invaders to get established where there is an intact ecological community.

[@alexcontreras6103]

majority of species are invasive prior to speciation

[@erfquake1]

If you ever find yourself driving through Kansas on Hwy 70 and notice a dark grey stripe in the roadcut, check it out. It consists of millions and millions of brachiopods stacked/compressed on top of each other, and stretches for miles and miles. It's mind-boggling.

[@StereoSpace]

Nick Zentner's program on Ancient Rivers in the Pacific Northwest touches on how species invasion can be used in interesting ways. Fish fossils that had only been seen below Hell's Canyon on the Snake River were suddenly found above Hell's Canyon starting about 5 MYA. That fish species arrival is used as a proxy for dating when Hell's Canyon was cut, connecting two previously disconnected watersheds.

[@mattpotter8725]

What an amazing interview exploring something I'd never have even thought about. You asked all the right questions and your guest was very clear in explaining the current evidence and research that is being done or hoped to be done in the future. Wow.

[@StevenStarksjbirdcapitalllc]

I play your channel "accidentally" while waiting for the students I tutor and use it as a teaching moment that one can be pretty and intelligent at the same time and it's not a binary solution. It's especially relevant because for these students, there are not a lot of role models. Thank you.

[@Dragonogrado]

You can tell when someone is really excited about their profession, their lifework. It rubs off on you immediately. Some things cannot be faked to even the casual observer.

[@GeologicalDiary]

Amazing work Rachel 👏

[@neotericrecreant]

I love how you always exceed my expecations. I'm always left with so many questions i never even considered. Bravo!

[@whiskeytango9769]

I have wondered about the exchange of species when South America collided with North America a few million years ago. Also, the exchange between Eurasia and North America when the Pleistocene glaciation created the Bering Land Bridge. I have never once given a thought to invasions in more ancient times. Very interesting.

[@joecanales9631]

Howdy Rachel, great video, very interesting new topic for me. Your point that the geologic column is changing is very obvious from my perspective of having been around in geosciences since the last century. For a while I thought it was a way for geologists to keep geophysicists confused, but now I see it as an expansion of knowledge of deep time. I like how you’ve expanded your content, field trips and interviews with innovative scientists.

[@Pikkugen]

You have THE most cutest Triceratops plushie there! ...I'm very interested of the process too, but couldn't help noticing.

[@GEOGIRL]

Thank you, that one is new! 😄

[@Dragrath1]

Triceratops is actually an extremely on point representative since Laramidia in the late Cretaceous is perhaps one of the best documented tectonically driven coordinated species invasion related to North America colliding transpressionally with what based on newer evidence, see Nick Zentner's Baja BC series, appears to have been a mature Indonesia like subduction archipelago. There was even a later extension of this with the closing of the interior seaway allowing the then much more homogenous generalist dominated post collision Laramidian dinosaurs to infiltrate Appalachia replacing the regions distantly related specialists.

[@amnasana.k1336]

Great info...didn't even think about this topic before.... Really mind-blowing

[@GEOGIRL]

I hadn’t thought about this before either! But I had the same reaction, so cool! 😄

[@barbaradurfee645]

I would imagine that persistent large delta systems would be areas where invasive species data could be studied over geologic time as the interface between sea and land changes back and forth.

[@Clearlight201]

Really enjoyed this fascinating question and answer presentation! What a great topic!

[@chrissimpson1183]

I like your background especially the stuffed triceratops.

[@pfsteinbach]

Wow, it's so cool to reveal this lesser-known area of study to us geo-interested folks!

[@LaineyBug2020]

I love how excited she is to answer the questions!

[@GEOGIRL]

Me too! ;D

[@MrSiwat]

Always great when you publish a new video. Wonderful stuff. Thanks so much.)

[@shreyakumarigupta12]

Information you provide is v. Entertaining for us. Thank you ! You are g8

[@donaldbrizzolara7720]

Awesome topic Rachel! I would also add, looking at the more recent geologic record, that hominid evolution would indicate that the species Homo sapiens is another extraordinary example of an invasive species.

[@paulalexandredumasseauvan2357]

ENJOYED this discussion very much! 👍☺

[@colinzed]

This is sooo great : D I need to watch it twice

[@sanjitdeswal6796]

Absolute brilliant educative video... you ladies are "rockstars" and wish you a world of power to keep up the fantastic research... thanks so much for sharing your studies... 😘😘

[@lyntonblessington7141]

You guys rock - quality stuff!

[@shadeen3604]

another brilliant video thank you Dr Geo girl

[@cdineaglecollapsecenter4672]

Great episode! Thanks to both of you.

[@travcollier]

On the intentionsl introduction of species, there have been quite a few biocontrol (predators of other invasive pests) which woked ok. They tend to just not get mentioned much and involve things like parasitic wasps whch most people would never even notice.

[@philochristos]

This is a good interview. You asked a lot of good questions.

[@DavidFiorillo-m3o]

Very interesting and informative report!.

[@thomasross4921]

Probably the most successful deliberate introductions of non-native species to fix an environmental problem have been parasitic wasps since they are such specialists.

[@barbaradurfee645]

Fabulous session!!

[@RPrice_OG]

Wow, that's a lot of really cool new(to me anyway) information. Great video, thanks.

[@torres8323]

John Agnew is the artist of the Ordivician picture in the background. He's a great natural artist from Cincinnati.

[@billnoi]

A kitten ran up to me in a park. 3 years later, he's now completely taken over my bed (and camera roll).

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

I'm not sure I would call these invasions, at least not in the context of being analogous to what humans have done. Some of these marine creatures suddenly appearing in the rock record was something that still occurred on the scale of thousands of years, if not longer is the cause was tectonic (being that plates move at the rate at which human fingernails grow). Humans have introduced thousands of species to new continental environments on which they otherwise never would've occurred over a span of a few decades to a century. These are more just like "sudden" dispersal events. Either way, its a cool phenomenon to learn about, especially analyzing ecosystems that merged 400 million years ago and the consequences of such...

[@_andrewvia]

Thank you Dr Phillips, for another excellent video packed with information. Just a funny observation: (at 29:55) You said "all of Earth's history" but the yt caption generator came up with "Oliver's history." lol

[@skipugh]

Very cool. Always interesting. Thank you 🙏 😊

[@Dragrath1]

Probably one of the most interesting fossil invasions is the Asian species which arrive in and colonized western NA during the Campanian to Maastrichtian which appears to have been in association with the arrival and collision of North America with a mature oceanic archipelago complex with many of the documented species in Laramidia. What makes this such a good example is that a number of the dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex have morphological characteristics which indicate a clear Asian rather than North American affinity rather than the North American branch of Tyrannosaurs and the fossil record shows a decrease in the number of distinct species with the disappearance of the latitude stratified tyrannosaurs which had preceded the arrival of T rex. Contemporaneously there is also a potentially far more striking species introduction albeit one which is still somewhat enigmatic in where and how they arrived is the end of the 30 million year sauropod hiatus appearance of Alamosaurus in what is today Mexico, New Mexico, & Texas 67 Ma where after disappearing entirely from the North American fossil record around 100 Ma alongside the regional development of what appears to have been a comparatively more stratified Cenozoic like largely closed canopy forest environments, Sauropods abruptly return in abundance in the form of Alamosaurus alongside a just as sudden shift in vegetation on the landscape towards what is interpreted to be a more "Jurassic like" open savanna like landscape. Now the exact interpretation of what this means is not fully resolved but the strangest thing is just how abundant juvenile Alamosaurus fossils are in these units as while they are mostly fragmentary they are by far the most common vertebrate fossils found in these rock units to the point where they are a major index fossil. There are basically 3 hypothesis for this either it is some kind of fossilization bias(which struggles to explain the other ecological aspects and the sheer abundance) or they arrived from somewhere else either Asia alongside other dinosaurs or curiously on the basis of morphological similarities potentially South America. The question in the case of the morphological similarities to the sauropods of Australia and South America, which as a reminder for context had still been connected to each other via Antarctica, is how they arrived. I would note that the volcanic archipelagos in question reached across the growing Pacific ocean so island hopping is a possibility. Furthermore from their fossil nests we know Sauropods were unlike most other dinosaurs which tended to favor high investment of care in offspring heavily r selected laying hundreds of comparatively small eggs into a hole dug with their specially adapted rear feet and then reburied and then left to fend for their own. Baby sauropods were tiny with hatchlings being able to fit in your hand though they grew extremely quickly based on bone growth rings. Given that we know more broadly that Sauropods were major ecosystem engineers with their voracious appetite for plants as adults with this kind of parental situation they seem to have been quite well adapted for the role of an invasive ecosystem engineers radically reshaping their environment in a ecologically naive landscape. Of course after a little over 1 million years this invasion was suddenly and abruptly halted via the enormous and nearby Chicxulub impact but I can't help but wonder how differently things might have gone without that external influence?

[@robbabcock_]

Fascinating stuff!

[@SeegerInstitute]

Thank you for this very important discussion. Thank you for the point of view. It is critical if we are to mitigate climate change through environmental restoration we have to get over our version to invasive species. We have to understand that life operates is a super organism and not look at things from the perspective of the individual entity, but think about the opportunities presented through disruption and recovery which often times Are supported through the introduction of an invasive species either Flora or Fana or other. Please keep up the good work and try to make people understand that if we’re going to fight climate change the only way to do it is through regenerative agriculture, and to reimagining individual pieces of land as one collective evolving unit and there are times during which a piece of land will be in recovery and other times disruption is appropriate. Animals for instance, need to be thought of as a resource for cultivation and fertility managed as a global commonwealth, not as an individual asset.this also challenges the notion that a diet aligning human and planetary health is plant-based. As one who raises Pigs this is completely false in my observation. We can raise as many animals as we want. all we have to do is eat the males. What we’ve misunderstood is that it’s not animal that are causing environmental harm. It’s raising animals and confinement where they are not allowed to serve their primary function within the ecosystem as cultivators fertilizers and disrupters. Please work to try to persuade the people in power that if we to leave a world better for the future, especially in light of climate change we are going to have to embrace invasive species as a method of jumpstarting ecosystems back into evolution

[@rebeccaswarthout4403]

I wonder how this information helps MI with the invasion of zebra muscles in our lakes and waterways? And how things will go in the future?

[@toastyburger]

Love your videos, GeoGirl! Honeybees and horses are a few of the introduced species to North America. How long before they are considered native?

[@AncientWildTV]

great video, really appreciated the insights Dr. Stigall shared! it's fascinating to look at ancient invasive species, but I can't help but wonder if we're overemphasizing their impact compared to modern ones. I mean, aren't today's species invasions much more influenced by human activity than anything that happened in the past?

[@ronnronn55]

Dear Geo Girl, seeing the picture of both of you side by side I would suggest warmer lighting on your set. Nuff said.

[@GEOGIRL]

Hahaha! You have no idea how much I tried to make it warmer on me, both pre- and post-filming! I record the intro with my phone, which records a more warm image, but the interview portion is recorded on my external webcam so I can use zoom to interview the scientists, so I think the webcam image is just very cool toned because I had my studio lights set to warm. Either that or I am just too pale lol! I will try my best to fix it in the future :)

[@dustinking2965]

Are we the baddies? (an invasive species)

[@floydriebe4755]

very interesting, ladies! our planet has so much to tell us of the past billions of years....our place in this history is the tiniest fraction of lifes' story. of course we must study the past if we want to have any kind of future. Happy Thanksgiving to you both❤🦃🥧🥂

[@michaeleisenberg7867]

Rachel 🪨⛏️💎, All these interviews are so interesting. I love seeing what your peers are up to!Thank you so much. 🎢🍨💡🪂

[@markvonwisco7369]

To me, "invasive species" are those which are introduced into an environment, whether accidentally or intentionally, by humans. When a species is introduced into a new environment by natural means, that strikes me as being qualitatively different. For example, the various European and Asian fish and bird species introduced by humans vs. instances like the Great American Biotic Interchange or species interchanges that happened when the Bering Land Bridge existed.

[@JeffNeelzebub]

In my view, an invasive species is any species that someway or another finds itself in an environment or location that it didn't evolve in, but is better adapted to live in that environment than the indigenous species of that environment. The reason it seems to "wreck" the ecosystem of that environment is because it quickly outcompetes the indigenous species there. During the human era, these invasive species are typically introduced by humans, either purposefully or accidentally, but it did happen in the prehuman era.

[@boxodrive]

Fascinating

[@Hellbender8574]

Based on this discussion, do you think invasion could be considered a stage in the development and spread of most species? So, the first member of a new species evolves in one place, breeds, and its offspring spread out to surrounding areas. Any species that is established over a wide zone would have been invasive to whatever lived there before. Are invasion events/ introduction events considered part of ecological succession in most habitats?

[@wantgoodvibes6166]

So good, thank you for this, :)

[@fireballninja01]

25:00 The one I think of is not related to conservation at all. Pablo Escobar’s hippos are actually somewhat beneficial to the environment of Colombia, simply because it wasn’t that long ago that semi-aquatic megafauna went extinct there.

[@fireballninja01]

The government likes to mark them as negatively invasive because they are dangerous to humans, as hippos tend to be, but we must understand. maybe the hippo belongs

[@HighWealder]

We don't know exactly where any species actually evolved, we can only assume. After decades of believing in the 'out of Africa ' for the origin of modern humans, recent discoveries suggest that it is possible that the final evolution maybe occurred in Europe and from the hybridisation of several related species. Even where species appear in an area where they are believed have evolved, they just seem to come out of nowhere. This suggests that they evolved in some niche where they did not have to compete.

[@Jefuslives]

Ironically, the most invasive species gets to decide what "invasive" means.

[@swayback7375]

It’s all just made up anyway, our whole world that most of us live in is a human construct

[@RobertCraft-re5sf]

More spot-on than I think you even realize 😅

[@raclark2730]

We evolved here, same parrot comment whenever the topic is raised. Grow up.

[@caracortage3270]

Excellent comment

[@MrMarkAMartin]

I wonder what her interpretation is of the Chattanooga Shale and its relationship to the late Devonian extinction event?

[@ecocentrichomestead6783]

Storms. Wind has, many times, carried species across barriers.

[@suzettehenderson9278]

Zebra mussels, common carp, goldfish, snakehead, round goby, silver carp, red lionfish, walking catfish... aquatic invasives are very much a thing.

[@nyeti7759]

You and Dr Stigall are really setting the standard for science education here. Professional but conversational, in-depth without being overwhelming, explaining a complex topic in a way that students and interested laypeople like me can understand. And it's great to learn about some newly published science from the author!

[@GEOGIRL]

Thank you so much for this comment, it means the world to me! :D

[@WillWaters-p1t]

What's the Best way (you recommend) to pray to your existence, GEO GIRL?)🎉

[@RalphDratman]

Well naturally the species invaded each other. They varied. They moved around. In a sense you could say that every species is invading every other species. The bad-guy-invader image arose just because we humans like to keep things more or less the way they are, so we can survive.

[@caspasesumo]

Will the Europans be researching Rachel and her friends at NASA as members of an invasive species when the Europa clipper arrives at it's destination given that she's part of the team?

[@fuzzball4918]

Bullet Ants. They can teach us to stay get from them or feel excruciating pain like you've you've just been shot.

[@ducthman4737]

So ocean currents change because temperature changes or temperature changes because currents change ?

[@TheDanEdwards]

Yes.

[@henrycobb]

Otter have talked about the extinction of the nautilus.

[@trtlphnx]

Excellent Subject Matter

[@kristinfrostlazerbeams]

Interesting discussion, she/her.

[@posticusmaximus1739]

Human beings are the most invasive species of all. But in regards to invasive species, isn't all life technically invasive? I assume life evolves in a specific part of Earth during the Hadean and invaded out everywhere.

[@hughshepherd424]

Great chat, but surely we're the most invasive species nowadays. ?

[@dadsonworldwide3238]

Very difficult study to say the least because young seedlings are all evasive one way or the other. Young plants that can never mature like that neighbor who plants banana trees and is constantly digging it up where it stays in the garage more than outside and is always toiling away with creating artuficial environmental conditions completly alien to its own like hydroponic growers. Lol

[@alexcontreras6103]

I completely disagree with her. Saying you can't see speciation in modern times; there are plenty of examples of invasive species that are on the path towards speciation and exhibit different morphological changes.

[@johannsgarden2020]

Every species had a time in which they did not exist where they do now. Every species is in its own way... "invasive."

[@brittpereira2600]

I can think of the armadillo as the modern day invader without human help

[@izzycurer1260]

Giant entada sea beans are invasive. They're just invasive all by themselves. It's sort of their thing.

[@uncleanunicorn4571]

Missing rock layers due to unconformity makes Geo Girl sad. :(

[@noel3422]

Is this natural selection or??

[@James_in_Florida]

I assume we are the champions of being an invasive species.

[@CampingforCool41]

Of course. No other species can freely travel across the world like humans can.

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

Playing silly buggers with complex systems, ends up with complex outputs.

[@keijojaanimets819]

Say gellou to Stevie!😁

[@RommelSanico]

🤗🙏♥️😊😃

[@ExploreVanIsle]

Scientist discovers that “survival of the fittest” involves the less fit one getting pruned

[@maxsonthonax1020]

Oh damn, the thimbnail pointing is back.

[@darrenbrown3687]

I see girl krush❤

[@stevengill1736]

Cane toads, cane toads!! ;^[}

[@darrenbrown3687]

Love ya

[@jamesraymond1158]

5% figures, 95% talking heads. Reversing these numbers would have greatly improved the video.

[@user-Vida-Locust]

Maybe this could help close our borders. And help our groceries price go down after this dramatic pandemic. Lol.

[@DimasFajar-ns4vb]

puffin bird

[@Charlie-Em]

👁️1️⃣2️⃣🔌👆🏽

[@Kraflyn]

test

[@GreyishHouse]

Why does it matter if it's man made? I don't get it, you're supposed to be an atheist but you believe in fairy tales like "mother nature"?

[@SuperDaveP270]

I am sad because I usually am a huge fan of your content, but this entire video just rubs me the wrong way.. Naturally occurring migrations have always been a thing and from the standpoint of ecology and natural history are usually not considered "invasions," and so I am surprised to hear it used so often here. They appear to only happen in singular events or in small clusters, unlike the very rapid and broad sweeping global exchange of flora and fauna resulting from recent human activities. Using terms like "invasive" to discuss natural migration detracts from the real ecological harm actual invasive species often cause, and is a tactic used to excuse a lack of funding (or in many cases any effort at all, really) to combat these problems or prevent them from continuing to happen.

[@SuperDaveP270]

5:05 I am not sure how she can say that---habitat loss and invasive species are the PRIMARY causes of recent extinctions! Invasive exotic species are directly responsible for an estimated more than 150 extinctions within the last century alone, either as the sole driver or as the final nail in the coffin. They were already the primary driver of extinctions before that, with another estimated 150 extinctions in the previous four centuries attributed nearly solely to invasive exotic species. Predation is an obvious factor but habitat alteration can be dramatic and should not be brushed off so out of hand. In the desert southwest, invasive grasses are spreading across arid landscapes and dramatically altering the habitats, altering surface soil conditions, increasing incidences of fire, choking out native plants, providing cover for the invasion of ever more species, and causing many native plants and animals endemic to those habitats to face what is almost certainly going to be an irreversible threat, with multiple inevitable extinctions coming just around the corner. This will be almost 100% attributable to just two species: buffelgrass and fountaingrass. There are hundreds of such examples around the world. 23:10 I also am not fond of the idea of prioritizing conservation efforts only upon certain species and deciding others are allowed to just go ahead and go extinct because the effort is just not worth it somehow. By focusing on specialist native species, you also benefit the more generalist species in the habitats with the same efforts, and likely help them even more by not having an apologist attitude towards the invasive species, as if some species or some level of invasion is still ok. I get the impression that she is not a fan of current anthropogenic species invasions, but that is definitely not made very clear. Talks like this can and do benefit our understanding, but only for people who already understand enough. The majority of people---and especially those who make policy decisions---do NOT understand and use arguments like this to thumb their noses at conservationists and defund habitat restoration efforts.

[@vladimirputout2461]

You look like the love of my life