Sixth Grade Second Place in Creative Writing

There is a famous saying, “age is an issue of mind over matter if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter”. Being small doesn’t mean you are not responsible for the world you live in. Or that you can’t make a difference. After all, whose future is it? The children’s. It is our world and we are the ones who should be making a difference. There are a million short-term problems in this world. They will come and go, but that doesn’t mean that the urgent and pressing problems should be neglected.

Climate change is a serious issue that is causing irreversible changes in our environment. Our role is to do everything we can to stop it. Think about how we use appliances and devices like televisions, Xboxes, and any such item we control using a remote. Well, did you realize that these things still use power even when they are off (off from the remote that is)? The right thing to do is to unplug them when you are done. This way you are actually reducing your carbon footprint. This will only make a small impact and you may think that it really doesn’t matter but if you set an example and create a ripple effect, then a small impact becomes big. There are many such small and big steps that we can take and truly make a big difference.

No one should have to tell us to save our future, because we are the ones who will bear the repercussions of climate change. The irony is that while we are worrying about things like education, college, and job opportunities of the future, it has never occurred to us what our future will be like. Will all the issues just magically fade away? No, they won’t. We have to do something about it to protect our future and our lives that are ahead of us.

I believe that my role as a student against climate change would be to create awareness and educate people on the small, daily steps we can take in our lives to help stop climate change. We are simply closing our eyes and are in denial about what’s to come. Children are the ones who will help people open their eyes to the looming crisis.