Hannah's Page
Dear Journal,
Today is Earth Day. We spent the whole week at school preparing for it, finishing off our posters on environmental ideas. Mine is on sustainable energy, other people did posters on rising sea levels and the effects of pollution, I wanted to do pollution instead but sustainable energy is fine. We have an assembly at school to present our environmental posters and I am so nervous to speak in front of everyone. It’s all virtual but I know that people are watching me, even if they aren’t there in person it is still so scary. The Toronto Young Environmentalist Foundation is going to be watching our presentations and I want to make a good impression. I want to work with them when I have graduated and if I make a bad first impression it could ruin my chances. The idea of my future is so stressful. Ever since the air quality got worse everyone has been on edge. Things have gotten better, and the politicians are hopeful and trying to boost up our morale but what if it is not enough. Or worse, what if I miss my chance? People getting into politics are much younger than when my parents were young. A guy two years ahead of me in school is already working on his campaign, it’s happening that fast. This will be my chance to make a change, I can’t miss it by messing up my presentation.
It is pretty interesting doing school online. My parents tell me about when they were in school and it sounds awful. The schools varied in quality and not every school was guaranteed the same resources. What? How were they able to control the quality of education everyone was getting? With how education is run today, it seems much more fair. With everything being online, every student has free digital access to textbooks, books, and other resources. We all have the same access and everyone I think is just as smart as me. My parents also tell me about how those who had less money would often get a worse education because they couldn’t afford educational resources, or lived in an area where the school was underfunded. That makes me so mad to think about, that if someone doesn’t have money they could not have a good education. That wasn’t fair. My parents say it’s better now that we are virtual, that the government has leveled the playing field in wake of the changing climate. It’s more fair now, I couldn’t imagine not being able to get the education I have just because of money.
I love the extracurriculars my school runs. The administration has really focused on the mental health of us students, and how being inside is affecting us. They know some struggle with being inside, and the teachers have been so dedicated in making fun extracurriculars to support us. My school runs a painting club, a movie club, multiple ESports teams, virtual band clubs, and even a debate club. I like the painting club and debate personally, it lets me meet my classmates and have human contact besides my parents. All the adults thought that when the air quality got worse, the future generations would be socially stunted and skill stunted because we wouldn’t be able to do much, at least that’s what my dad says. But the school system has done so much to make sure that doesn’t happen to us, my mom says her teachers would’ve never gone so above and beyond for her as my teachers have.
Life is good. I have a good education, and more opportunities than I think anyone would’ve thought we would have. I am excited for my presentation, I know I am going to impress the TYEF, and I know I will be a politician one day. I think this is going to be a good Earth Day.