Anyone Can Make a Difference

I believe everyone can make a difference. I highly dislike when I hear my peers saying “I’m only one person, how can I do anything?” I think that’s what the problem is with some of my generation. Everyone thinks that they’re just one person and there’s just seven billion other ones out there who will do the work. They think “those other people won’t litter or they’ll recycle or finish the food that’s on their plate so I should’t have to.” Realizing this from an early age I was determined to go against what everyone seemed to be doing. Caring solely about themselves and how they look and if they have a Blackberry or not or how many likes they get on their Facebook pictures. Where was that going to get someone in life? Nowhere. Instead I decided I would invest my time in something useful. I always loved being outdoors and I developed a passion for the environment upon entering high school. So, what could I do that would make a difference in my life? I soon found my answer in tenth grade Advanced Science Research class.
Ms. Geraci, my ASR teacher, is one of the most fascinating women I know who knows a tremendous amount about science. She is not only an expert in biology but also an expert in teaching me about life’s valuable lessons. I really do look up to her. We were casually discussing the same topic of “I can’t make a difference” theme when she mentioned that our high school recently removed our paper recycling program because not enough people cared about putting it out. Well, that attitude sounded awfully familiar to me and both of us soon decided we were going to get the program started again. Except this time it would be student run instead of teacher run. We decided that everybody in science honor society would have to participate in order to remain in the club. Every Tuesday kids from all different grades would pick up the paper recycling bins together during their off periods and transport them to the outside parking lot via a larger bin that was stored