I believe that even small actions can help change and protect our planet for the better. I believe that if we put in effort and do small tasks we can make change. Everyday is made up of small actions and every choice we make no matter how big or small has an impact in some way. Simple things such as picking up trash, turning off lights and recycling may not seem important but they add up.

This belief is important to me because being a young member of society I believe that it is important to start making changes and taking responsibility for our planet and the animals inhabiting it. Starting now means my generation can build good habits early on and grow up caring about our environment. Even small actions even at my age can add up and create a beautiful and healthy planet.

One of the reasons I am so passionate about this topic is because when I was 6 years old I went whale watching and I saw a sick sea outer that ingested a mylar balloon even though I was very young, it made an impact on me, it showed just how dangerous things we think are harmless (like the balloon) can be. From then on I never had any balloons at my birthday parties. I hope that people can realize that small pieces of plastic like balloons and plastic bags can hurt the earth more than you think.

Since I live in LA, I spend a lot of time in the ocean and what I see breaks my heart, so much pollution and trash. About 100,000 Marine Mammals and over 1 million Seabirds annually die from ingesting plastic and debris. Most of the plastic we use on a day to day basis ends up in the oceans harming and potentially killing animals. All these tragedies and such small effortless solutions that you can incorporate into your daily life, for instance using substitutes for plastic, as an example instead of using a plastic water bottle, invest in one made from stainless steel, or using bees wax or paper bags for holding snacks instead of plastic. When I see animals suffering I feel so much guilt and responsibility to help. This is why I try to do small things like picking up trash, recycling, and cleaning the plastic and debris at the beach, because even though it seems small now it will pay off in the future. It's always important to remind people to start with 1 small action.

Life is all made up of small actions and just how our daily choices shape what we become as people, and it can also shape our planet's future. At the end of the day small actions do count and just because they are small does not mean that they are meaningless.