Reflection

Reflection

It was originally an open-ended school assignment. My twelfth grade environmental science teacher tasked her students to creatively inform a specific audience about a certain issue in relation to sustainability. Due to my passion for music, I chose to write a song, and after some deliberation, I decided to write about rising sea levels. After learning and researching about the major impacts that rising sea levels have worldwide, I noticed a trend. Even though increase in sea level may only mainly impact coastal cities and towns, the cause of this issue is global. This rings true for all problems involving sustainability. No matter where someone lives, whether it be inland or along the coast, each person impacts Mother Earth in some way every single day. To share this message, I intentionally chose my target audience to be the city of Phoenix, more specifically, the youth in Phoenix. Living in Phoenix, Arizona, I know what it’s like to live in a desert where the closest body of water feels hundreds of miles away. Therefore, I felt it necessary to share my song “Rising Seas” with my city and teach the local community that while we may live far from the ocean, the things we do every day can have an impact on people across the globe. Furthermore, I chose to write this song in the style of rap not only to optimize the amount of information I could include, but also to appeal to younger audiences in hopes of them learning sustainable habits at a young age.