I’ve always had a passion for learning. The idea that there is so much more to know and so much more to understand, sparks in me a sense of wonder. It is not until you have fully immersed yourself into a topic that you can being to look beyond what appears on the surface and instead begin to unearth its vast complexities and relational property to other topics. My favorite moment has always been when I realize that two seemly separate ideas and variables were in fact deeply interconnected. As my ENVS 160 class has repeatedly emphasized, our world is the product of both direct and indirect interactions between a myriad of actors.
The idea that even small interactions have power to be vastly influential, sparks in me a sense of optimism. Although this may be naive because small interactions can include both ones that can be perceived has having a positive effect as well as a negative one. But in this case I am mostly referring to the effect and power positive-subtle interactions can garner. A viewpoint I have recently frequently heard sounds along the lines of “ you are just one person, what effect are you really going to have”. I obviously know I am one person and am aware of the restrictions I face, but that being said if so many things are relational and interconnected, the combination of varying efforts do have an impact. Just because not everyone is mobilizing in the same way that does not mean that their efforts are any less valid and influential.
Recently I have felt discouraged from repeatedly hearing that my actions will not have an impact. I guess people assume that I am trying to save the world but in reality I am just trying to use what I have learned to become mobilized in my own way. Although numbers are always more impressive than just one person, you should not discredit an individual’s own efforts. There is usually more than one solution, you just have to be willing to look beyond what lies on the surface and instead realize that there is so much to learn from other individuals.