As high school students, it is easy for us to overlook the impact of the decisions we make and how they affect our futures. We often tend to focus on either academics or our social lives to the point that the question of the future of sustainability never crosses our minds. As time goes on, the topic of sustainability is becoming something that can not be ignored and must be addressed. As youth, the effects of non-sustainability must not just be a topic seen on news media pages, but should be a problem we strive to work towards solving daily.
To me, not only is sustainability a part of environmental concern, but it is also about protecting the important parts of our lives and the lives of future generations. Emphasizing sustainability in the decisions we make helps us to protect our communities and the quality of the life we live. When we consider sustainability daily, we can keep the parks and playgrounds that children go to to feel a sense of joy clean, alongside the air that carries the oxygen necessary for us to live. When I think about the importance of sustainability, I think about how what we do and what we don’t do has a huge effect on our future generation, their children, and their grandchildren. If we aren’t thinking about sustainability regularly, the land that was once a memorable park to some may be a landfill, and the animals we see often in the sky and on land will only be seen when Googled.
The use of social media is only on the rise, and instead of being seen as a distraction for high schoolers, this is the tool we need to utilize to spread more awareness about sustainability. Speaking about this with peers and encouraging each other to make small changes will be the mainspring to bring about change. Even though we are young, we can still bring about change. We are future innovators, medical pioneers, artists, and more. Our futures are in our hands. We must take action and bring change. Our age does not determine our ability to do things because, at the end of the day, we can do whatever we put effort into. Achieving sustainability should be something we put effort into, because it means putting effort into our futures. It’s up to us to protect the beauty of the places that make us who we are.
