Everyone knows that the world sucks. It's the type of knowledge that is deeply entrenched in everyday actions and conversations. We all laugh about hating our alarm clocks in the morning, we collectively mourn Mondays, and we accept new developments in the news with the same grim steadfastness we always have. None of this is new; the only ones who don't seem to know this are the very youngest people, and even then, only the lucky ones. Everyone knows that the world sucks. But the good people, the types that are worth being around, don't act like it, and I think that's the idea at the heart of the Ode to Millennials-Gen Z. I have a philosophy that if you want to see a change in the world, you need to be willing to work towards it. This is what drives me to be involved in community service and constantly research ecology- my passion in life- to see what new ideas are being developed to protect and restore depleted environments. I know it's easy to just complain because the world has a lot of awful things going on and with the advent of social media, you're constantly aware of it. In many cases, even just talking about an issue can help bring it closer to a positive resolution. But there needs to be people willing to strive for solutions if we ever want the world to improve- and the good thing is, there are. I have a friend who volunteers frequently at food banks and community outreach programs to help unhoused people. She selflessly dedicates her already-scarce free time to the improvement of strangers' lives because she genuinely wants to make the world a better place. I have another friend who puts in staggering hours of community service every week to improve the quality of agricultural education for their peers, advocating for sustainability and ethical practices. I, myself, often go to highway cleanups and invasive species weed pulls to make a tangible difference in the ecosystem around me. All of us are aware that our efforts are small in the grand scheme of things- we all know that individually, we can't fix the world's problems. But instead of falling victim to nihilism, we take heart in knowing that our efforts contribute to the global efforts of millions more people like us. So I agree with the thesis statement of the ode. I know that my generation is going to rise to the challenges we face and band together to make a positive change. We all know that the world sucks, but to us, that's the motivation to make it better.

If Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" were to be read by everyone in the world, I full-heartedly believe the world would be a better, more accepting place. The book follows the young student Victor Frankenstein who, after the death of his mother, becomes enthralled with the idea of bestowing life to inanimate matter. Although his ambition blinds him to his rapidly declining health, he does succeed in this goal, and on a dreary night in November, he brings to life a creature that, in the centuries after the book's publication, would become immortalized. Frankenstein's creature is known in pop culture to be a monster, dredged from profaned graves by a madman. But in the book, after his birth, he is scared and confused. His creator, delirious with fever, fled from the scene and abandoned him. Alone, the creature wanders through the woods, slowly learning about himself and the world around him. But everywhere the creature seeks companionship, he is met with hatred and cruelty. At length, he discovers the cause of this mistreatment: he is hideous, hardly even human to look at. And despite the kindness in his heart and countless good deeds, no one can ever look past the horror of his face. He is cursed to the miserable life of an outcast because of an immutable facet of himself; the pain and sorrow inflicted upon him festers in his heart, and turns to rage. It's not a happy story. Victor and his creation both die without ever reaching any sort of understanding with each other. But that is what makes this book so valuable to read. I've heard it said that "Frankenstein" is a warning against letting hatred consume you, and while I see value in this interpretation, I believe that everyone should read this novel because it teaches about being othered. Every day, across the globe, millions of people face oppression and unkindness for things they cannot control: race, class, sexuality, gender identity, disability. It hurts. If people who've never experienced this were to read "Frankenstein", they may come out with a better understanding of how awful this pain is. It's a well-known fact that stories breed sympathy, and sympathy is desperately needed by those who are othered.

To me, education is hope for the future. Taking the time out of your life to learn about the world around you, to meet new people, to experience new things- all of this is a declaration that you believe not only that the world can get better, but that you can help improve it. It's no secret that there are a lot of problems in the world- rapid climate change, international tensions, and social injustices, just to name a few. No matter who we are, these problems have tangible, negative effects on us. It's easy to fall into despair when faced with such a vast array of deeply entrenched, complex issues; it's easy to start to think that everything's hopeless, that these problems can't possibly be resolved. But once you start to learn about a specific problem, you can understand it. And once you know where the root of the problem lies, you can act to change it. It's necessary to be educated on a problem to think of and implement steps to solve it, and because of this, I see education to be the preeminent expression of hope for a better future. In my personal life, I plan to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Ecology and Environmental Sciences. I'm very passionate about the natural world, and my whole life, I've been increasingly frustrated to hear about the ecological damage that's being done by large corporations and the very structure of modern society. Pollutants like cars and single-use plastics are so integral to people's lives that it isn't realistic to tell people to cut these factors out. However, as I've learned about the fight to incorporate sustainability into our lives, I've learned about ways that we can gradually shift society away from these. For example, bolstering the quality and availability of public transport can decrease the amount of people who have to drive personal vehicles to get to work. Taking a bus or tram as opposed to driving can cut CO2 emissions by 45%, which is a great step in combating the ever-rising amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. It's because I dedicated myself to learning about realistic and impactful solutions like this that I began to think I could make a career in environmental sustainability, as well. Once I earn a Bachelor's Degree, I intend to go into an ecological career, studying how the environment is impacted by human activities and how we can change society to live in tandem with the natural world. Throughout my life, I know I'll need to keep on learning and furthering my education on societal issues, especially the ones I'm planning on having a hand in fixing, because education isn't just the seed that sparks change- it is change.