Reflection

My climate change journey began when our school invited one of their alumni to talk about their journey and their efforts towards improving our planet. What surprised me was how 'big of a deal' climate change was. I'd heard about it, and there was always light discussion but it had never occurred to me how deep of a hole we'd dug ourselves. I started researching, and watching videos and became more curious. The most common thing I noticed was articles or videos on how animals in the north and south poles are suffering. How rapidly glaciers are melting and how animals going extinct because they are unable to survive. I wanted to do something about it but I didn't know what. I wanted to be able to inspire others as our guest speaker did to me. But before that, I had to set an example for what I wanted to spread awareness for. I started by doing little things at home such as not using single-use plastic, cycling to places, and other common practices. We're very lucky to be able to voice our thoughts and have our peers understand us. But we've never been able to hear how animals feel. How much of this do they really understand? How much of this are they able to cope with? And so I wrote a poem, about climate change through the eyes of a penguin. The struggle it faces as it tries to keep itself and its family alive. My final message to readers of my poem is, to think beyond 'us', and think of every tiny living organism that goes through the pain of climate change through no fault of their own. We have the strength, the intelligence, the capacity and the support to do it. Let's make our planet a better place.