To my future children,

I write to you today on a very cold November day, a little over a year since Trump won the 2016 presidential election. It’s been a challenging year in a lot of ways – both on a global level in terms of what’s been going on in the news but also in my personal life. I think tough times push us in ways we did not expect to be be pushed and sometimes we find out just how much strength and love we are capable of.

This past autumn has been crazy! It was very hot in New York City even into October and we missed the beautiful foliage that normally graces us in the fall. I particularly missed the foliage when I was back at my alma mater earlier this month for the 2017 Yale Environmental Sustainability Summit. Fall on campus is one of the most amazing places and I can’t tell you how many wonderful memories I continue to look back on that had the bright foliage in the background.

The conference was amazing –  I heard so many talented people share the incredible work they are doing every day to make the world we live in a more sustainable place. I wish you could’ve been there with me to experience the joy and hope that I felt and to firsthand see the passion that people put into this very important work. It made think that I, too, want to get more involved in actively making this world a more sustainable one – so that when your kids’ kids grow up, they, too, will have the honor and privilege to make memories under the foliage.

As I write this letter to you, I am affirming my commitment to do my part to make this planet and world, in which you will one day live, a better place. It’s not enough to just recycle. I will sign petitions and call my local representatives. I will also engage in conversations about climate change – even with people with whom I don’t see eye-to-eye. I commit to eating more plant-based proteins and reducing my consumption of beef to once every two weeks. I will be a more conscientious consumer and put my hard-earned dollars towards products and services that do not harm this planet in the making.

I hope your generation will grow up with a different consciousness about how you personally impact the environment around you through the choices you make every single day. I promise to embody the energy and power of love in all things I do in gratitude for what the earth has provided up to now and with hope that we can do better in the future.

Much love,
Elle