Imagine living in a world where the food we consume are free of harsh chemicals and we all lived in a clean sustainable life. Clean living is how you are going to cause a positive impact not just on the environment, but for your own well being. Clean living can include things such as cooking your own meals from your personal garden to revamping something to give it a second life instead of throwing it away. This can include finding different outfits for one shirt that could last you more years, than going on a shopping spree at the mall for fast fashion. Clean living is important because it’s helping save the planet little by little by limiting the amount of chemicals, products or procedures that negatively impact us and the planet. For example, big clothing companies produce mass amounts of trendy clothes and when most of these clothes aren’t sold, they end up in a landfill. If more people promoted a clean life, then, reusing your current clothes would be the way to go instead of buying the latest trendy items. Recently, thrifting has became popular so hopefully this will give more items a second life that will last a long time before it gets disposed of. I tend to reuse my clothes in multiple outfits each year. It has been years since I went on a shopping spree because I manage to find a new outfit idea for my current clothes. Now, most schools have a water fountains where you can bring your reusable water bottle instead of buying plastic bottles. This new update has helped us reduce the amount of plastic we tend to buy when getting a pack of water bottles at the store. This summer we grew our own tomatoes and peppers because clean living also includes what you put in your body. I think growing your own garden is something that brings joy and reassurance because you know that the food that goes inside your body has been grown using safe things unlike harsh chemicals. I personally know that I will continue to only shop things that I NEED and try and grow more fruits and veggies in the spring. I know these are small steps toward clean living, but I want to live a healthy and sustainable life knowing that it’s benefiting me and the environment. Slowly but surely I’ll get there soon!

As a first-generation American I was fast to notice the differences that I had from others. I noticed how others had more things then me, but since my family raised me with the thought of "wants aren't important as needs are", I never cared. Maybe as a kid you think, "I wish I had that toy", but personally, I new that sometimes money was scarce and I would always tell my parents, "no I don't want anything," when we were in a store, even if I did because deep down I wanted them to save for more important things and that a $10 dress was too much. Now that I'm older it may sound silly to others, but for that little girl, it was a big thing. To this day now that everything is better, it still stuck with me. I don't spend on many things I want, because I know there are more important things. I try to always get things when they're on sale, buy off-brand items and go thrifting whenever I can because there are many things for affordable prices and great quality. Personally, I think money is something that is always difficult to attain when being a refugee, immigrant or even as a first-generation American. Although there have been challenges, we strive to overcome them then anyone else. We do it because we want to show others that we can do anything. In my case, I owe it to my parents, for giving me and my sister their all. Now its time for us to repay it. That's why I want a career, I want to fulfill my parents' dreams that they weren't able to accomplish. Being a first-generation kid really opens up your eyes at a young age. This truly does shape you and your vision for your future. That's why it's extremely important to me to achieve all my goals and dreams that I have because I know that I have the opportunities to do so, unlike others that don't have access to them.