Reflection

My drawing, “Balancing Act,” was inspired by my experiences in the past year participating in an environmental club at my school. As we conducted research throughout the year on how to combat climate change in our community, I became more and more aware of how much of the future was in our generation's hands. This evoked feelings of responsibility, despair, and above all, hope. Thus, I wanted my art to depict my climate story by showing the world that I have learned is currently being passed down from generation to generation. I used the metaphor of a falling, warping Jenga tower to show how combatting climate change involves a balancing act of compromise and discussion. While there have been both positive and negative advancements in our efforts to reduce climate change throughout history, each future generation is ultimately inheriting issues that have been left behind by the previous one, including climate inequality, ocean acidification, and increased natural disasters, to name a few. I found that one way we can produce change is by engaging with our local communities. After working with and interviewing local policymakers and others who work in climate-related sectors such as foresters and ecologists, I have learned that combating climate change requires both lifestyle changes as well as systematic and legislative action and that as youth, we have a uniquely powerful voice in bringing advancement to the legislative side of climate change.