Dear Future Self,

During this semester, I’ve learned that throughout assignments, there is intrinsic and instrumental value in everything we, as humans, come in contact with on a daily basis. Another important quality that must be held by everyone in order to create important change is gratitude. I hope that more people hold this value in the future as it is powerful when healing damage as well as when talking not only about connections with others and the Earth, but creating relationships that truly care for each other. Currently, society is selfishly driven as humans seem to forget that the Earth is inhabited by species other than their own. Though Earth is constantly providing, humans keep taking without any urge to give back, lacking gratitude and reciprocity. Due to this, climate change turns into an even bigger threat on a day to day basis. My life and community will look extremely different in 10 or 20 years if action is not taken to solve environmental issues such as air pollution, CO2 emissions, and weather patterns that are drastically changing for the worse due to climate change. To help change the story of the path we are on, I plan on advocating for a safe and healthy world in order to protect the fragile environment and the species living on it. Individuals need to start treating the Earth as a friendship and understand why living together as one—humans and nature—is urgent, especially in the world we live in today. The future is at threat and environmentally, the Earth is fighting back and calling for change that we must listen to in order to create a clean atmosphere for generations to come.