As the year ends, I think it is important to reflect on all the good that has come out of 2024 along with recognizing the issues that must be faced for the upcoming year. Personally, I feel that the best way to do this is to look at ourselves first and see what we must change on our own before pointing at others to change. For me, I’m glad that this year brought me new opportunities to spread awareness about the environment through writing competitions and joining new programs such as the Catholic Climate Covenant. Something I want to change for 2025 is limiting my reliance on plastic. Although I do not use plastic water bottles, I hope to not have to turn to buying plastic utensils for a sports banquet or lunch. It may seem like plastic water bottles and bags are the only source of plastic pollution in our world, but it really surrounds us in everything we do. Our toothbrushes, clothes, decorations, and more most likely contain elements of plastic.

Something I would like to change in my community is bringing recycling bins to my school. Although it doesn’t seem like a big change, when hundreds of students are throwing away paper and plastic water bottles and yogurt cups every day, the waste adds up. In my opinion, these small acts are what will ultimately change our environmental situation. If every community across the globe decided to make a small difference such as using metal water bottles or carpooling, how our environment looks and feels would be very different. The reason why there is so much trash in the ocean is because one person bought the product and threw it away, except this one person is multiplied to become billions of people.

Whatever this new year brings, I hope it will be one where we can continue to prevent the disastrous effects of climate change. While it will not be all good, it is the bad that will fuel us to fight for justice and peace. Happy holidays!  

Image: Zawila, Dawid. “Trees under cloudy sky during sunset photo.” Unsplash, 3 August 2016, https://unsplash.com/photos/trees-under-cloudy-sky-during-sunset–G3rw6Y02D0