Dear Future Self,

This semester I had my eyes opened about the state of our environment and the important role each person plays. I always felt that it was someone else’s responsibility to figure it out and make a difference. And while it is the climate scientists who will do the research and provide information, it is up to each person to make a change in their own way. If we all sit by waiting for someone else to do something, nothing will ever get done. I hope that by the time you see this you have taken matters into your own hands and made a difference wherever you could. Whether it’s recycling in your own house one day, reducing your use of plastic water bottles (you really don’t need them!) or thinking about the products you buy- I hope you do what is right instead of what is easy. You enjoy this beautiful world a lot, through pictures, videos, and the time you spend running out in nature with your friends. Don’t you want other people and other generations to enjoy those same pleasures that you were fortunate enough to have? Change doesn’t happen in big waves, it happens from little efforts that are consistent and build together over time. That’s how this all started anyway. Climate change didn’t happen overnight. It was little things that grew bigger and bigger and we ignored them even as we saw them becoming stronger than we ever thought. That’s the same way we must battle this at an individual level. Believe in the power of change from just one person, because no matter how it feels, we are never truly alone in this fight.