My hands tremble as I chase my Beta Fish, Pothole, around in his filthy bowl with a dollar store net.

I jump every time the net misses him, clanking against the glass, causing him to scurry farther to the depths of his bowl. I am talking to him out loud at work, coaxing him to swim into the netted material, yet he does not listen. I threaten to dump him into the tupperware dish instead of transporting him with a net. But then I recall when I accidentally dumped him out of the bowl and into the sink last time. I do not blame him for ignoring me and swimming in the opposite direction. I promised him it would not happen again, but I am far too nervous with a net and he has only one eye and PTSD.

Pothole and I first met at Mejiers in the Pet’s section on a Monday evening. Amongst deceased aquatic friends in plastic bowls and yellow water, his lively, dark blue and black appearance in clear water was mesmerizing. When he saw me, his fins flared up, acknowledging my presence. I do not think he chose me like dogs or cats chose their human. I think, instead, he was just trying to move out of the fish graveyard. Luckily for him, the girl who is known to kill fish within three days chose to save him.

What started out as a positive fish experience has became a challenge for me at work. As someone who has an unavoidable reputation of killing fish, my daily battle is to keep him alive as well as healthy and happy. Instead of reassuring me of these two key elements in keeping a fish alive, he decides to sink to the pits of his bowl and bury himself beneath rocks. I have never freaked out this much over a stupid fish before.

I have owned Pothole since the beginning of September and since then,

I have learned that taking care of a fish is just as hard as taking care of myself. Although I have not had the experience of someone attempting to scoop me out of my home and place me inside an old tupperware container. As a college student, change often feels like that. While I do not turn completely white in color as my Beta fish does to emit stress, I instead, ache with stress and break out. Him and I are not as different despite the air/water we breathe.

Here is a list of other factors that I’ve come up with that connects college students and aquatic friends:

1. If you do not feed them, they will die.

Beta fish should be fed once a day with real Beta food. Beta fish will eat continuously if you let them. This is not good for the fish because they eat not knowing when their next meal with be. College students, in the same way, are like this when their funds are low. Yet, if you eat too much, you *probably* won’t die. Your fish will.)

2. Both enjoy hiding from their responsibilities.

While Beta fish enjoy hiding in caves, submarines, or underneath rocks to feel safe, college students enjoy hiding underneath their blankets and pillows away from their responsibilities.

3. Being introduced to new beings could results in friendships or fights.

Please note that Beta fish are not meant to be kept in a container with other fish. Beta fish are a Siamese fighting fish and do not play well with other fish or Betas. It is not humane to watch the fish fight. Just enjoy the company of your one aquatic friend.

4. Adapting to a new environment can be stressful.

At least college students are not chased by a net when being transported from place to place. Beta fish water bowls should be changed bi-weekly, if not weekly. If the water is cloudier than normal, clean it sooner so your aquatic friend is not trapped swimming amongst it’s feces. Put yourself in that position for a moment. You don’t want that and neither does your fish.

5. Both want/need attention and reassurance.

Beta fish and college students generally both want to be left alone, but giving them occasional attention is essential to their wellbeing. While Beta fish tend to flare their fins to capture one’s eye, college students tweet “I need attention” on Twitter. I have not personally tried tweeting that I needed attention to get attention so I cannot personally note if that method is efficient or not.

What I do know is that my fish, Pothole and I have more in common than I originally thought. Although he continues to drive me nuts five days out of a seven day week from swimming away from me or pretending to be dead underneath his rocks, I do recommend rescuing an aquatic friend from your local grocery or pet store to keep you company and entertained during your college experience.

As I write this on a Saturday night, I would to thank my fish for being an inspiration for this piece; however since I left my fish at work over the weekend with no food, Monday morning might be a different story.