Over the last two weeks I have learned about myself as a person. I had always thought that I was a good person, and good to the earth for simple reasons, like taking out my garbage, recycling basic items in my house, and not littering. However, I have learned that it goes much deeper then just these simple tasks, even though they are good starting points. My SMART goal was to not use paper toweling, or paper products, which I am proud to say that I no longer do. I only use only the minimum amount of toilet paper that I actually need when going to the bathroom. These are simple habits that I had never really thought of you. Also I have learned that if I really want to make a change that I will, and from that it will in turn change all of my other habits. After doing the "Junk on the Brain" activity I have found myself looking at everything in my house and finding so many different uses for it. I've cut old t-shirts and used them for rags. I now used an old coffee can to hold flowers in the house. If this would of been me two weeks ago I would of simply thrown all of my garbage away when I was done with it, and never even thought of all of the possibilities of different uses that could come from it. I am really proud of my new outlook on life, of saving, reusing, and recycling a lot of things I have.
Two weeks ago when we watched the movie GREEN, that really hit home a lot for me. I grew up by a lot of small farms and had always heard and thought that yes farmers work hard, and am ashamed to say that I took their farming for granted, and thought it was something easy they did to save on money. I now see that I am very wrong for this idea, and am embarrassed that I ever even had this idea. From that video I saw that our environment is a very precious item, that should not be taken lightly. It would not be kept the way it is if it wasn't for the farmers producing foods, and keeping it healthy with all of their fertilizing and maintaining of their crops and gardens. Farmers help reduce some of the need for factories, which ruin our environment with all of the pollution they produce. I now have a whole new respect for farmers, and all of the hard work they do for us. I would actually like to go and work on a farm for a few weeks, so I really can get the true experience, I think it would be very humbling and a good idea for me. I have also learned that we are all responsible for our environment, since we are all living here. I believe that actions are contagious. I now try to pick up one piece of garbage everyday that I see (which there is always a ton on my 5 minute walk to school). I believe by doing this that if someone sees me they will pick up the habit, and do it themselves, and if everyone would do this then our world would really be a different place. I also like to do my part with helping to GO GREEN so I have taken a vow to only drive my car when I absolutely need to. I now walk to school everyday to save on not only gas, but the pollution as well. This change has been going on for a little over two weeks now, which I am proud to say that I am helping our environment.
Within these last few weeks I have found a new love, blogging! In the beginning I was a bit skeptical about blogging, but have found that I really enjoy it. I find myself just going through everyone's blogs and reading of all of the great work that they are doing, and it is so exciting to read and learn from them! I really do enjoy this, and find it inspiring to try some of their new lifestyle changes, or get ideas from this. I really have liked Niki J's idea of trying to eat more vegetables! This has been something I have always wanted to do, but never really found the motivation to do so until I started reading her blog, so if it wasn't for blogging I would still be in phase one of just wanting to change, but not really doing so.
I can easily say this is my favorite class that I have ever taken here at UMD. I really have never learned so much about our world that I have in these few weeks. I had always taken everything I had for granted, and always expected it all to just be there for me, but never really learned how things work, and the simple tasks that I can do to help our world. I am also excited that form this class I went to Whole Foods Co-op for the first time last weekend, which was such an exciting experience for me. I found myself just wondering around reading the labels on all of the foods, and when I found something that was GM free I was very happy to see that. I bought a lot of organic foods which I am very excited to try, especially a delicious Boca Burger that I just made the other night. I really have enjoyed this class, and am learning so much, and am very excited and happy with the person I am becoming and all of the new different behaviors I have acquired as well!
