Dear Tomorrow,

I am writing to your from the year 2016, from a place that I call home.

As a 23 year old female from Pakistan, the most you can do is live your life and study in the hope of achieving a good job and starting a family. I won’t say that I was any different from the cliches identified, but it would be false to claim that I was not aware of the ongoing climatic problem. The shortage of rain, the severe summer becoming longer each year and the pollution did worry me. The celebrities posting a message about going green always motivated me, but the turning point for me was after I viewed the documentary called “Before the Flood”. It made me think about my nieces and what kind of future will I be leaving for them. Will my parting gift for them would be drought, dry lands, heat and no scenic beauty that I grew up watching on earth? I don’t want the rainforests, the glaciers and the rivers to be a picture on the wall of what once was on this earth. And I don’t want to play the victim of how helpless I was against the bigger forces like government and politics.

I want to be able to stand with pride in front of them and say “I did everything in my power to safeguard a future for you and your children.” Hence, i will not wait for the governments to make changes. I have taken the initiative of going green on personal level. I have cut down on my meat consumption, banned using plastic shoppers or bottles, and installed led lights in my home. And with every step I take towards my future, my decision will be driven by my conscience of saving the future. It all starts with you and hence I am taking control of the reins in my life regarding saving the global climate. I hope you won’t be dissapointed in the future by my efforts. Dont repeat the mistakes of your ancestors and do everything to preserve our home, our EARTH.

Sahar Arshad Mahmood
2-11-2016