Aspiration:
In this course, we learned unique ways to think about environmental problems and their broader impacts. Since many environments and ecosystems are complex systems, there is rarely a simple one-way solution to the problems in the ecosystem. The negative effects affect many other aspects like economy, jobs, social norms and personal life. I aspire to apply this style of thinking about problems by looking at the bigger picture in order to create long-term sustainable solutions when I make decisions in my life.
Intervention:
Surrounding myself with like-minded people that are self-motivated and driven when it comes to long-term, systemic and sustainable thinking. For example, volunteer at youth classes or camps where environmental problems and solutions are discussed.
Reflection:
I learned many valuable lessons from my experiences in this course. Firstly, collaborating with my group members to plan, schedule and implement a workshop on fast fashion for youth boosted my self-confidence and teamwork skills. I learned that public speaking is actually one of my strengths. I enjoyed delivering the presentation in class on our youth workshop. I am glad that the presentation was a significant percentage of the course grade. It made putting in a lot of effort into the workshop worthwhile. The presentations also felt like a celebration of our learning and success, because we got to openly share and explain our efforts to achieve system change.
One of the main takeaways from this class for me is a deep appreciation for how difficult it is to implement long-term system changes that are sustainable for the environment and economy, and supported by legislation. Looking at history, I have a newfound admiration for those who have succeeded at such feats in the past.