Reflections: Weeks 9-12

This quarter, like the ones before, has opened my eyes to a lot of issues that are currently detrimental to our world.

WEEK 9
This week, we started our Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change SMART goals. My goal was to spend at least 50% of my total bill on organic products at the grocery store.  We also started our advocacy project and looked up who the representatives are in our area. This was really interesting to see how many people are involved in legislature.

WEEK 10
This week in class we watched a documentary called Unnatural Causes. This showcased the issue of social class and it's effects. This also taught us how to find the root of a problem which will benefit and the advocacy project. For my Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change, I was successful with reaching just above 50% which I was very happy with although it was no easy task.

WEEK 11
The documentary "Story of Stuff" was shown which taught us about the actual cost of making products. It was actually quite shocking and sad. We also did a junking activity in class which taught us how to think outside of the box. I'll use this concept for my junking project in the future to come up with something original. I fell a bit short of my SMART goal for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change but was still pleased with myself for trying. Failing isn't always a complete failure is what it taught me.

WEEK 12
In class, we had a lot of fun reading a story together about junking/reusing items. Then, we came up with our own alternate ending which was pretty comical. We also went over the photo essays we posted to our blogs in class. For mine, I went through the good, the bad, and the ugly environmental aspects of my house. It really showed me what things I need to start changing within my own house before I tackle the rest of the world. It neat to see what everyone else found, too. For my 3rd week of trying out my SMART goal, I did better with spending about 50% of my grocery bill on organic products. I have found that this is becoming easier for me to do which shows me that I have really changed the way I think and look at products. I think I'll continue to buy organic products in the future as well.

CONCLUSION
These last 4 weeks has made me realize what a real difference I can make on my own through advocacy and my own personal goals. Right now, I'm more comfortable acting as an advocate through my family and friends as well as coaching myself to do better. In the future, however, I'd really like to fight for our planet and try to change somethings that really need it. For instance, my small town doesn't have very good means or incentives to recycle and this is something I would be interested in changing. I've really loved this class so far and I'm anxious to see what Dr. V has in store for us for the rest of the semester. I'm also excited to see everyone's junking projects!