Student Essays, Opinions & Other Insights on a Sustainable UMD 2013-2014 Academic Year | Page 24

Yoojin Park
Major: Marketing
Class of 2016

This past year, something really important
happened to me. As cheesy as this may
sound, I recently discovered that the purpose
of my existence is to help protect the earth
around us and those who inhabit it. Though,
accomplishing this can sometimes be
difficult because I am not as sustainable as I could be with the lifestyle that I grew up living. Taking the
sustainability pledge would allow me to integrate sustainable methods into my life that are not as difficult as
one may believe it to me, and will carry onto my life even after the pledge is over. It will push me to be more
mindful of my actions that I normally would not pay much attention to without the pledge, and the impacts
that they may cause. With all of the problems that are already occurring, there is no reason to put any
extraneous pressure on Mother Nature with something that could be easily avoided.
Sustainability is important to me because there is only one earth, and I think it is a really great place to be in.
The natural world is something that gives great meaning to my life, and I want it to be around long enough so
that others in the future can appreciate it to. Finding harmony with the environment surrounding us is
imperative: human beings are not the only ones to exist in this world, and it is important to keep in mind that
this home is ours to share. We have already caused a great amount of damage, and it is critical that we start
doing something to alleviate some of the pressure that we cause before it is too late.
One thing that our university could do to be more sustainable is to simply care - care about what is going
around us, and know why our earth is worth protecting. I firmly believe that in order to create real social
change, the root of it is to inspire people to care about why they should do what we believe. In order to do so,
not only can we as students do something to spread this message through events or actions, but also have our
administration showing that sustainability matters as well. By fostering a community that cares about
sustainability, it will motivate people to actually do something about it.

20