Reflection

My journey started at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois where my mom and I are frequent visitors. I brought nothing but my camera and an open mind, and my visit was unlike any other. As I trained my camera through the glass, I found myself seeing each exhibit with a new eye. By focusing intently, I began to capture the special moments that made me fall in love with marine biology as a child on camera. I stopped for long periods at exhibits that I would normally neglect. My newfound sense of awe soon translated unto others. As visitors saw me and my camera crouched on the ground engrossed in an exhibit, crowds formed around me, drawing dozens to tiny aquariums that even on the most busy days would not garner a single viewer. After eight hours filming at the aquarium, we headed home where I sorted through hours of footage, scouring for the most cinematic moments. The only problem was, here in the midwest, there are no oceans to film the effects of pollution or climate change at. So, I started on a new leg of my journey, searching the internet for free video footage of climate change and pollution. After all the knowledge and perspective that I gained while creating this film, I plan to create a free archive of footage, music, photography, art etc. for people all over the world to use. By establishing easy access to inspiring media, I hope to encourage potential advocates to spread their passion for important causes like climate change. I will use the footage I collected for this film to start my Free Advocacy Archive, and will continue to create songs, art and other various media to add to it as well as enlist the help of my community and future college to expand the Archive’s resources making truly impactful advocacy in this digital age accessible to everyone. While I hope to fuel local action and support, my ultimate goal is to reach the biggest contributors to climate change, large corporations like Exxon-Mobil and governments around the world. In the meantime however, I will continue to volunteer on a local level by helping out with the Shedd Aquarium to cleaning up nearby waterways. Through my film “A Fading Rainbow”, I hope to translate my love and knowledge of the ocean to others and impose upon them the urgency of taking action against climate change. I also hope to inspire future advocates through the magic of film. Our oceans are worth fighting for and I believe that through inspiring advocacy we can build the army we need to win this battle.