World We Dare to Imagine - Post 1

There are two things I have always felt passionate about when it comes to making the world a better place--sustainability and kindness. Although two very different topics, both are important discussions that surround how our actions can affect those around us.

To start, sustainability has always held a big place in my head and my heart. For starters, my grandfather--who I received my namesake--was a landscape architect. Although he passed before I even turned one year old, I was raised hearing stories about his love for reimagining a landscape with the incorporation of new plants from around the world. Because of this, I have always felt a deeper connection to the environment and after taking AP environmental science in high school, I realized how something I share with my late grandfather will soon be gone if things do not change. 

I think there are many things we can be doing to help the environment in our day-to-day activities. Even though I think people should be more conscious about the decisions they are making when it comes to being more sustainable, I am not one to demand drastic changes. Personally, a few years back I made the switch from whole milk to non-dairy milk as well as cut out red meat completely. Although I do enjoy a good steak or burger from in-n-out, after learning how much methane is coming from cows, I wanted to do my part in working to decrease this. 

I would consider these decisions I made more extreme, but there are even smaller choices you can make to do your part as well. This includes turning off the lights when you leave your room, taking shorter showers, recycling more, etc. The list goes on and a mass movement of small improvements will eventually lead to a large motion of decreasing carbon footprints around the world. 

The other thing that I feel passionate about in making the world a better place is spreading kindness. I know it sounds cheesy on the surface, but I truly believe with the rise of social media, online bullying has become a big problem for our generation. It is quite alarming how it seems it has almost become a trend to tear people down in the comment section on social media platforms. This is probably because there is very little accountability when it comes to social media, that is, people can hide behind their screens to avoid responsibility for their actions. Moving forward, I would love to see people practice treating others with kindness more. I think it will go a long way and have many more positive repercussions other than a simple nice comment.