My dream Disney Channel crossover is between Suite Life on Deck and That's So Raven. The episode would be called, "Raven Goes Overboard", and the general premise is Raven's dad was hired as a guest cook on the SS Tipton. As soon as they arrive on the ship, Raven has a vision of the ship's guests grossed out while eating her dad's meal, leading Raven to believe that her dad's meal gives the entire ship food poisoning. Trying to figure out how to stop this from happening, Raven talks aloud to herself on the deck, where Zach overhears her saying, "I just need to figure out how to get into the kitchen without getting noticed." He smoothly, as always, offers to help Raven out. Sitting together on the deck, Raven explains how the meal that night in the ship's fancy restaurant is going to make everyone sick and that she has to stop the meal from getting out to save her dad's reputation. Zach asks what he would gain from helping her. "Peace of mind knowing you helped someone in need," she says. He grimaces. She compromises, "I'll get you enough of his food to last you a year." "Perfect," Zach says. "This ship food is starting to bum me out." Zach recruits Woody to help them out, knowing he'll be ecstatic about eating exorbitant amounts of food. Woody claims he's perfect for the job because his questionable eating habits have made him "immune to poison." While all of this is happening, Cory is meeting London in the cabin halls. He stops her to—in normal Cory fashion—use his charm to ask London on a date. When she rejects him, he backtracks and convinces her he's the son of a world-famous, Michelin star chef that travels the world, cooking for the biggest celebrities. Believing this, London agrees. Raven's mom has been spending her vacation by the poolside, trying to relax while Miss Tutweiler pesters her. The night of Mr. Baxter's meal, Cody & Bailey and Cory & London are on dates in the fancy restaurant. Mr. Moseby is greeting all of the guests as they enter. Raven, Zach, and Woody are dressed as mustached waiters carrying trays of water into the kitchen from the dining room. When they enter the kitchen, they see, to their horror, that the meals are already on their way out to the guests. They conclude that their only option is to go around to each table to test the food. They grab handfuls of pasta from each plate, shoving the noodles haphazardly into their mouths. The guests look appalled, fulfilling Raven's vision from the beginning of the episode. In the chaos, Raven's wig and Zach's hat fall off, revealing their identities. Cody, Mr. Moseby, Cory, and Mr. Baxter all address the group. They explain themselves, apologize, and ultimately make up for it. As a consequence, they're forced to clean up the restaurant, but their true punishment is the food poisoning they got from eating too much pasta.

Losing a friend I thought I would have forever will likely be the worst heartbreak I experience. We were best friends from fourth to eleventh grade. We were attached at the hip. We planned our futures together: having boyfriends who were also best friends so we could all hang out, hosting annual Halloween parties together, and chopping our hair before college. As that future got closer, we changed. We started valuing different things, seeing new futures for ourselves, and ultimately growing into unrecognizable people. I realized the friendship wasn't meant serving either of us anymore and cut it off. Taylor Swift, especially in her 1989 TV album, explores friendship in all its highs and lows. "Now That We Don't Talk" and "Say Don't Go" beautifully represent my life as I recall and move on from a friendship I thought would be with me forever. "I don't have to pretend I like acid rock or that I'd like to be on a mega yacht with important men who think important thoughts." It was so easy to conform to her changed personality just to keep the peace. She talked about going to school nearby and getting drunk every weekend with frat boys but I knew that's not what I envisioned for my future. It seemed she expected me to trail along with whatever she said. Coming out on the other side, I felt I didn't know myself without her—she was such an integral part of my life until that point that I hadn't bothered finding my personality as I grew up. "What do you tell your friends, we shared dinners, long weekends with." Like many choir kids, we created a tight friend group of choristers in middle school that stuck with us into high school. Almost immediately after I broke the friendship off, she told them "her version". When I was given a synopsis of "her version" by a friend of a friend, it seemed I was this villain abandoning her at her lowest. I didn't try to change their minds because deep down, I felt she was right. Every day when I saw her at school I felt ashamed and guilty. The army she had built spread the word about the villain I was and it nearly consumed me. "Remind myself the more I gave, you'd want me less." This lyric became my daily mantra. I had to remind myself how there was reasoning behind my actions; I could admit that I handled the situation poorly, but not that I shouldn't have done it. Months later, I know I was in the right, even if she never realizes that. "I'm standin' on a tightrope alone, I hold my breath a little bit longer. Halfway out the door, but it won't close. I'm holdin' out hope for you to say, 'Don't go'." I wasn't standing on a tightrope or halfway out a door, but I was sitting in her Ford Explorer after a volleyball game in the high school parking lot. I wanted her to convince me that our friendship was worth saving, but her response only justified what I was doing. Taylor's songs consoled me when I believed I was a villain. She reminded me that I'm never alone and I can always depend on myself. Thanks to her, I've wrapped my head around that friendship ending and can confidently say I'm better off. She's reminded me that after every "Now That We Don't Talk" & "Say Don't Go" year, there's a "Shake It Off" & "This Love" year waiting for me.

If there is any comment that makes me immediately giddy, it's "Your outfit is so cute!" Dressing in a way that represents my personality and makes me stand out boosts my confidence and ensures that I am going to have a good day. Unfortunately, the fashion industry puts more emphasis on keeping up with micro trends than on sustainable production, creating quality products, and using ethical means of labor. My mom was the first person to introduce me to secondhand and sustainable fashion. She is always dressed to the nines, whether she's working her finance job, sweeping the kitchen, or going out for dinner with friends. Most admirably, she doesn't feed in to trends; she explores her personal style preferences and scours her closet, thrift and consignment stores, and reselling websites to find new clothing, and she's taught me to do the same. Any time I am in the mood to shop, I invite a friend to go check out a thrift store with me. I've saved thousands of dollars, promoted sustainable consumption, and by not giving money to fast fashion companies, sent a message that I won't give my money to unethical and inefficient corporations. Women are encouraged to purchase so many unnecessary hygiene products that produce exorbitant amounts of waste. To avoid this, I use zero-waste shower items, wool dryer balls for laundry, wooden toothbrushes, and toothpaste tablets to reduce my waste. I've changed habits in other parts of my life, too, to live more sustainably. Six years ago, I cut red meat out of my diet because of the harmful emissions and exploited labor associated with factory farming. I sat down and had a conversation with my parents, both of whom come from agricultural backgrounds, and encouraged them to buy locally sourced meat, products in minimal packaging, and beverages that come in aluminum cans. When they realized the financial and health benefits of these choices, they were right on board. The most difficult part of my life to minimize waste in is carbon emissions from the car I drive: a big Nissan SUV I share with my mom. I purchased a used moped from a neighbor that gets nearly 100 miles per gallon. It's perfect for driving to school and running errands when the weather permits, but not a perfect solution. One day, I would like to live in a city where I can walk everywhere and use public transportation more. Though my actions on their own may not change the world, I have the power to alter my peers, family, and friends' behavior. As a collective, our actions can change the way society interacts with the environment. Our thoughtful consumer choices tell companies and government leaders that we demand more sustainable products and systems and we will not settle until our demands are met. A sustainable life incorporates environmental, ethical, and economic consciousness—which I try to embody each day. Some choices may get me compliments, like my clothes, but others are more self-fulfilling—either way, I have the peace of mind that I am contributing to a better, cleaner future.

In Minnesota, renewable energy is a particularly hot topic. Everyone wants to get solar panels, but realistically, we only get consistent sun for 3 months of the year. Down the street from my house, there's a solar farm about 2 acres big and when my family drives to my grandparent's farm in South Dakota, we see enough wind turbines to power the entire Midwest. These are just baby steps to get to where we need to be with energy efficiency. Developed countries' reliance on fossil fuels—such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal— is what sowed the seeds for the economic prosperity we've experienced in the past century, but it is most definitely the cause of the economic and political turmoil we now live in. We need to transition towards solar, wind, and geothermic energy if we desire any chance of economic prosperity for the next generation of global citizens. It is not realistic for certain regions to use certain renewable energy sources. For example, Minnesota would be a poor place to implement geothermic energy solutions because we simply do not have the resources to support it. Areas on the coast must utilize geothermic and off-shore wind energy and export the generated electricity to neighboring regions. Near the Mississippi River, hydroelectric dams could be a great source of energy if not for their detrimental environmental impacts, but existing dams should be kept in use— otherwise, the millions of dollars spent on their construction would be for naught. In the Great Plains, it is essential we utilize the high winds and build more wind turbines in those areas and export the energy to the neighboring rural regions, as they are the areas usually forgotten in renewable energy allocation. Urban areas should be easier to distribute clean energy to, but encouraging less use of air conditioning, by eliminating the Urban Heat Island Effect with permeable pavement and green spaces, more efficient appliances and utilities, and regulating energy intake in corporate buildings would help lessen the energy needed in densely populated areas. In our transition period, we're still going to use fossil fuel-dependent energy sources, but every fraction of our energy production that we can accumulate from renewable sources is a tax dollar well spent and, potentially, a life saved. A sustainable future doesn't mean that we eradicate all of our normal ways of life, but that we find ways to improve them and further the evolution of our society.