Nossa vida só tem qualidade se tem natureza ao nosso redor.

Espero de coração que, no futuro, você possa olhar para trás e se orgulhar muito dos pais que teve.

I hope that you all can enjoy the Smokey Mountains in your lifetime too and that they look how they did back in 2017 when I saw them.

“I knew you would want to know how the future turned out. You got so anxious about climate change as we grew older.  By coming back, I thought I could help you with that.”

But being truthful, I know we are not yet on the path that will lead to the change that is needed; but it is visible.

And, if this summer has taught me anything, I am content (because I have to be) living in this limbo, this seemingly endless waiting for the opportunity to change, when really the opportunity exists within our very selves all along.

I am writing this message to you guys. When I look outside my window today, I see a beautiful world that others and myself call “home sweet home.” The trees glimmering in warm sunlight, the air stirring a cool breeze, and the water flowing down rivers are parts of our home Mother Earth.

It was 2020, the year I realized that life is fragile—not just mine, but the entire planet—through immense consumption, pollution, greediness, ignorance, false bliss. This wasn’t the way I wanted to live my life, so I promise to actively make the change.

I hope you are healthy and happy and that you feel supported by the ecosystem around you because we are all deeply truly interconnected. We depend on the earth to take care of us, and nature needs us to take care of her in turn. We all need each other.