There is a disconnect between “regular people” and “climate activists.” I’ve heard far too many times that there’s no point in “regular people” trying to do anything to fight climate change, and this mentality isn’t all regular people’s fault. Climate activists are often very proud of what they’ve worked for, and rightfully so. However, sometimes that can come off as a rigid set of standards of what climate activists are, and usually that doesn’t include you. In reality, anyone can be a climate activist.
On April 1, I will be helping Communitopia run the Youth Climate Action Summit for students in grades 7-12 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. I’m a regular high school student. I play soccer and complain about SATs. But I also am a climate activist, and you can be one, too. Whether you want to make a difference in your school or in your country, we’ll give you the tools to take what you have (and believe me, you already have more tools than you think) to make that change possible.
Climate change will affect all of us, so we all have to work together to turn back the clock.
Vanessa Gonzalez-Rychener
Swisshelm Park
The writer is a junior at Winchester Thurston School.