Law of Life essay

Kiera Walker, Sudlersville Middle School
Law of Life Essay 2009-2010
        

I heard about it all the time; the warnings, the pleas for change, and the hope for a better future. All around me people were trying to save the environment. And I was one hoping for a better future. I was the one telling people to lay off of the fertilizers, that their lawns would be naturally green if they let them. I said this as a walking contradiction. I was oblivious to what I was doing; I never thought that I could be harming the environment. To my self I would think I take good care of it, and any bad things are small, so who cares? I’m only one person. It never dawned on me that my actions contributed to this wasteland we call home. Every morning that I sprayed hairspray in my hair, every paper basket that missed the trash can, every lengthy shower, almost everything I did not only made our planet a disaster, but made me a hypocritical monster.
        When it comes to remembering I can’t tell you what I wore yesterday but I can tell you every detail about that mild Saturday in December. I went out to check the mail. I was wearing my winter coat, for the days of late had been freezing. As soon as I stepped outside, I felt like I was entering another world — another universe. The air was thick; beads of sweat spontaneously arose on my brow. I struggled to escape the tight hug my coat held me in. Once I was free I stood still and surveyed my neighborhood, but it wasn’t my neighborhood — not any more. Now it was an area consisting of my mistakes, my irresponsibility all in one place, for every one to see. I walked down to the river, without checking the mail. I remember seeing the water; it wasn’t blue, or even brown
Kiera Walker, Sudlersville Middle School

like the mud below. It was a polluted green, with a layer of rainbow reflecting back at me. The rainbow colors weren’t something beautiful to admire, it was oil floating on top of the water.
It was then when I realized that I had to take action. I had a responsibility. It wasn’t chosen, it wasn’t something I asked for; it was something I had to do. That’s what I feel responsibility is. Whether you want it or not it’s there, and it always will be. It’s something you’re born with. If you don’t take responsibility, then you have to be the bigger person and turn it around. So what did I do? I cleaned up the trash around the river, and my neighborhood. That was all it took for a better future.
Now, I think about everything I do. I take responsibility, even if I don’t feel as if it’s my fault. Because my life lesson is; it is your fault and there is always something you can do to make it better. Ever since I‘ve lived by this law I‘ve felt better and been more responsible over all. Besides, as George Burns once said “No snow flake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.”