An Opinion, by Kimberly Le
Just a Small Town Girl, Living in a Corporate World All right, you caught me, I was in fact going to name this article, "I Don't Know About You, But I'm Feeling Anxious Too (About Our World)" in hopes that my reader will sing it in the tune of Taylor Swift's critically acclaimed song, "22", from her album, Red (Taylor's Version, of course). But this isn't about Taylor Swift, or Journey, it's about one of the world's biggest threats—and if you guessed global warming, corporations and capitalism, or the division in many of the worlds' countries, communities, and individuals, you'd be correct. I'm not here to bring the mood down. By now you know that all of those aforementioned ills are real—just read the news or look outside (no, not literally). Where have we gone wrong? Are we going to be here in "x" amount of years? What if the movies about dystopias or post-apocalyptic earth were right? Reading all of that I am sure made you feel anxious, it's because you care, and know that you are not alone in feeling the same way. You feel helpless knowing that certain conditions force you to increase your carbon footprint. You may be angry knowing the biggest contributors to greenhouse gasses, deforestation, fossil fuels, etc. are corporations, but then we are back to feeling helpless because again, certain conditions put us in a situation where we resort to investments or activities that increase our carbon footprint. I get it. It's not easy being green. We have to understand that we are all entitled to different individual needs and wants; I can't make someone become vegan overnight (nor would I want to) or start riding my nonexistent bike to school. But I am an individual capable of and willing to change. Whether it is in the physical things I do, shifting my mindset to make use of what I have instead of buying more of something, I, and thus you, have to acknowledge we are not and could never be perfect. We cannot limit ourselves to a black-white scale where we must either be zero or 100%. We are imperfect, but we are trying. You might be able to relate this back to the classroom when you sit in the awkward and painful silence after a teacher or professor has asked a question. No one wants to make a fool out of themselves and get it wrong, but how can we know we are right? The answer? Staring at your educator until they either give in or call on someone. But now your teacher is the earth asking you, "what can we do?". Going back to the aforementioned ills of our world, the common denominator is sustainability. If there ever was a "word of the year", I would hope that "sustainability" was the winner. The word has applied itself in many different contexts than just being environmentally-concerned. "Sustainability" doesn't only mean buying biodegradable items or thrifting (though those are excellent substitutes to their counterparts). Sustainability also means holding those in power accountable for prioritizing healthier habits for the betterment of the individual employee and of the environment (thus, the company as a whole). Sustainability can also mean educating yourself and what you are able and have access to making changes, regardless of brevity, in your own life and educating those within your circles. Sustainability might look like healthy communication, a fair and just democracy, or having your "Meatless (or Meat Allowed) Mondays". See a pattern? These are changes you, myself, or the individual can make. I could sit here and raise my fist at corporate America or billionaires of the world or be completely pessimistic because simply, "I give up", but no, I don't want to do that—I don't want to give up. The point of writing this blog post is for selfish reasons: I, myself, am going through an environmental crisis (re: the second paragraph) and had no way of expressing my anxiety without stressing someone else out (and if that is you, I encourage you to step away and center yourself because this post is not worth your mental health). But it is in hopes of creating a dialogue between me, the author, and you, my fantastic and courageous reader. We can only make meaningful change if we truly desire to do so, but if not, feel free to move out of the way so someone else can until you are ready. And I am most definitely not expecting you to tackle all of these different sanctions of sustainability all at once (remember the black-white scale? Yeah, it still applies). An idea is still an idea. A step forward is better than two steps back. Changing one habit at a time is still changing. Life is gradual; I know it may look like those predictions that WHO or the CDC or any federal organization about "We will have this by 2030" or "we will lose this by 2025". But we have time, I promise. I write this on January 25th, 2022 and by December 25th, 2022, I know I will have become a different person. Growth is inevitable, and to give others the benefit of the doubt, I hope it's for the better. So, what now? Well, I am glad you asked, reader. I might "uno reverse" that same question to you: so, what? Maybe you'll step away from the computer or mobile device and go on about your day without a second thought to what you have just read. Maybe you'll step away and contemplate and do some self-reflection. Or maybe if you're like me, you're looking for what you can do everyday, or right now, or within a week or two, to start this new chapter of mine. If that's you, I thought I'd give you something to explore as both a thank you for making it this far, and to tell you that if you were looking for a sign to be sustainable, this is the moment to begin. -Kimberly L.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
SUWC Blog AuthorsAny posts on the SUWC Blog are authored by current consultants working to improve, refine and perfect our practice as peer tutors. Find a Post!
January 2024
Categories |