The regular person’s guide to becoming a climate activist

I’ve always felt a deep connection to nature. Growing up I was passionate about aquatic life and had an interest in wildlife extinction. I used to drag my little sister to the stream behind our housing development and collect samples to analyze. We would catch frogs and collect algae. Mostly we would get covered in mud despite my mother’s strict instructions to ‘not get dirty.’ I decided I was going to be a marine biologist when I grew up, long before my dreams of being a writer surfaced. The problem was I didn’t excel in science and math and I knew my grades would never reflect my passion. I had to set my scientist dreams aside. It was clear to me that my talents were limited to pen and paper. But my connection to nature never went away, and as I grew, that connection grew with me. I became aware of climate change and the harm humanity is inflicting on the planet and that the list of extinct animals is getting longer. I couldn’t sit back and watch without doing something. But what could I do? I’m just a regular person.