To me, education means being passionate and motivated to further one's understanding of the world around them. In the mindset of many students, their educational journey only serves as a sequence of learning facts and being tested on them, while long-term retention and truly grasping the material at hand are often put on the back burner. I think it is essential that young people recognize the real-world importance of everything they learn; no matter what career they wish to pursue, learning the core subjects provides the backbone for success for the rest of their lives. That being said, for many people, learning the core subjects during middle and high school is just the beginning. It is during one's years at college that an individual begins to hone in on their interests and start learning career-specific information that will directly benefit them in their professional lives. As a high school senior going into college next year, I know that this next step can be especially daunting for students. Not only will I face courses with higher stakes and difficulty, but I will also be entering an entirely new environment and lifestyle. I earnestly wish to earn the best grades within my power in college and graduate school, but I also recognize the importance of balance in life. Throughout my high school years, I have kept myself very busy with Honors courses and online college courses through dual enrollment; but as my time at this education stage is coming to an end, I have realized how little I have been able to enjoy myself and to build meaningful relationships with others. I have been so caught up in maintaining my GPA and earning college credits that I failed to remember how quickly time passed, leaving me with only a few high school memories of spending time with friends and family. However, I am determined to change for the better; my goals for my years in college and beyond not only include educational and professional success but also include building meaningful relationships and memories that I can treasure for the rest of my life. I know I can't stop time in its tracks, but I will try to make the most of every moment possible and cherish those around me. As daunting as the future may seem to me now, I am determined to put my best foot forward and be open to facing any challenges that await me in the years to come.

@yasumin__24

The Shopping Bag Dilemma Take a walk along almost any beach in the world and you will certainly find plastic bags, bottles, yogurt containers and countless other plastic items. We have all seen the heart-wrenching pictures of plastic garbage filling our oceans and waterways and know of the damaging impact it has on wildlife and animals. Plastic does not decompose for hundreds of years and is harmful to humans as well as wildlife. As plastic eventually disintegrates into small pieces, fish consume these particles, and the problem eventually lands on our dinner plates. Traces of microplastics can consequently be found in almost every human. Knowing this, many environmentally-conscious people turn to paper as a solution to this dilemma. It’s true, paper does decompose very quickly, but using paper may not be the most environmentally safe choice after all. Stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's provide paper shopping bags for their customers, and many people believe that this choice is a reasonable replacement for plastic bags. Many stores, however, still hand out countless plastic bags to their shoppers without hesitation and free of charge. Some cafés give paper-based coffee cups and straws to their customers, while others seem to close their eyes to the problem. We may naturally lean towards the businesses that have made changes using paper, but these “solutions” are not as perfect as they seem. Paper decomposes after a few weeks, but this is the only advantage it has over plastic. The process of making paper uses a very large amount of resources. For example, one sheet of paper takes over three gallons of water to make. Harmful chemicals and bleaches are used in the manufacturing of paper, which pollutes the water used in the process as well as our atmosphere. A better choice for this worldwide problem is needed, that is both, environmentally safe and uses fewer resources. Some European countries have made simple yet highly effective changes to prevent environmental pollution from plastic bags. For decades, German students bring recyclable materials to their schools that serve as central collection points all across the country. It has become part of school culture that the kids keep a friendly competition, there are even leaderboards for the best recyclers. Germany has perhaps the best system for nationwide recycling of paper, glass, plastic and aluminum in place of any country in the world. Every household sorts all these items and as a result very little “leftover trash” that can’t be recycled remains. To curb the use of plastic bags, customers in Germany always had to pay 15 cents per bag at checkout. Finally, some stores in the United States are adopting this custom of charging for their plastic bags or rewarding shoppers for bringing their own reusable bags with a discount. But faster and more sweeping changes have to be made, as the average American family uses over a thousand plastic bags per year. Choosing to use fabric instead of paper or plastic bags is not expensive to do. People can make their own shopping bags, ideally by sewing them from tablecloths or t-shirts that are no longer used and would otherwise be discarded. This way, new fabric does not have to be made for people to have reusable bags. A few years ago, the city of Düsseldorf in Germany set a goal to become Germany’s first “plastic bag free” city. They motivated the town’s inhabitants to switch to reusable fabric bags by designing and making their own totes. Interested people of all ages took advantage of free upcycling classes, where they learned to sew simple but sturdy shopping bags from textiles they no longer needed. The city even held a competition where homemade bags could be submitted to a jury. Contestants won prizes such as sewing machines for interesting-looking and practical bags. Many European cities have followed this example to ban plastic bags in recent years. Several states in the U.S. have banned single-use plastic bags as well. The simple solution to this paper/plastic dilemma is using fabric shopping bags; being cheap and effective, reusable fabric shopping bags should replace both, plastic and paper bags. Reusable shopping bags save resources, prevent environmental pollution, and protect wildlife. Sturdy fabric shopping bags last for several years, require a minimal investment, and can save several thousand plastic/paper bags if used on every shopping trip. Making your own upcycled shopping bags from unwanted textiles is an excellent way to get creative, prevent further pollution, and make a small but significant contribution to protecting our environment.