Category Archives: Social issues

Being Split

Being Split
By Preston Young, age 10, New York.

Illustration by Preston Young, 10, New York.

Being split,
Korean and Taiwanese,
I can’t process two different cultures,
It’s hard for me.

On Korean New Year,
I bow to elders and eat Duk Bok Ki (rice cakes).
On Chinese New Year,
I get red envelopes and eat dim sum with herbal tea.
I call my Korean grandparents Halmoni and Haraboji;
Ah ma, I call to my grandma who is Taiwanese.

The Taiwanese flag has red, white and blue.
The South Korean flag has those colors too.
The American flag has them too, oooh!

Being split,
Korean and Taiwanese,
Sometimes people don’t understand me.
When my friends talk about their one culture,
I want one of my other cultures to be unseen.

I try to tell my friends over and over;
I scream and I shout and whisper over their shoulder.
They never understand when I say,
I am both Korean and Taiwanese!
They look confused and annoyed like fleas.

Sometimes I wonder if being Korean and Taiwanese is right for me.
I sit there and think until I can finally see,
I am special with being multicultural,
Being Korean, Taiwanese, and American,
Can all fit in my soul.

Being split,
Korean, Taiwanese, and American is hard.
But the three cultures,
Are forever in my heart!

By Preston Young, age 10, New York. Preston adds: “My mom is Korean and my dad is Taiwanese. I was born in the USA. I speak English but I am learning how to write, read and speak Korean because my friends at school can speak fluently, and I want to be able to communicate with them. My dream is to become an author and entertain kids. I was inspired to write this poem because when I am in school people always assume that I am full Korean or full Taiwanese. Sometimes people think I’m Chinese but I always correct them. I wanted to express how I feel and what that makes me feel like. I made a collage out of construction paper and some magazine clippings with markers to show my feelings about being split in three different cultures.”

“Looksmaxxing” and Toxic Beauty Standards

By Colin Wu, high school junior, California.

Earlier this year, one of my close friends got very wrapped up in the looksmaxxing community, a growing online community that strives for the ideal body and flawless face. He started calling people out that he didn’t find attractive, bullying and fat-shaming them. He shunned and looked down on his peers who didn’t have the “perfect body”—6’ 0” tall, six-pack abs and huge biceps. The looksmaxxing community targets young males and females and influences their ideas about beauty in a toxic way. Looksmaxxers are part of an online community that has gotten inside our heads and inside our homes and it needs to be stopped before more people get hurt.

Social media has had a huge effect on younger people’s feelings about their appearance. In a New York Times op-ed titled, “Toxic Beauty Standards Can Be Passed Down”, Alexandra D’Amour writes, “There’s a nickname for tweens and teenagers who have been influenced by social media to get into skin care: Sephora Kids. Johanna Almstead, a fashion industry friend, tells me that in her local mothers group chat, nearly every mom had “Skincare, skincare, skincare!” on the holiday gift lists they were given—by their fifth graders.”

Younger children requesting skincare products as gifts is alarming. It suggests that they have a problem with their appearance and are using skincare to fix it. It also shows the influence social media has on the youth now, whereas, when I was in fifth grade, I wanted video games and Legos. D’Amour also says, “A recent video on TikTok that has garnered more than eight million views features a 28-year-old woman showing her “raw,” procedure-free face, meaning no Botox or fillers. As some women and girls cheered on her bravery, others were left horrified. “Praying I’ll never look like that,” one comment reads. This comment shows the ways in which social media has defined beauty for future generations. While sharing their “raw” face makes some people proud, others are disgusted by its imperfections.

Parents, who also contribute to the focus on skincare in young people, can make this situation better. D’Amour writes, “And yet, if a mother’s insecurity can fuel her daughter’s own self-loathing, a mother’s radical self-love might just protect and even heal her daughter from a toxic culture.” D’Amour believes the influence that parents can have on their children can be more positive than negative. Parents who are able to teach their kids to love their appearance may help their children stay away from bad communities. D’Amour says, “When I ask the few friends who haven’t gotten Botox why they haven’t, they tell me it’s because they love how their mothers are aging and how they embrace it. They don’t fear aging because their mothers don’t (or didn’t).” Older generations of mothers who are secure about their appearance influence younger generations by making them realize it’s best to accept and love themselves for who they are. Coming from a family in which no one had any kind of procedure, my parents and grandparents have taught me self-worth and have made me love myself for who I am.

People today are growing up in toxic cultures that lead them to accept unnatural beauty standards. D’Amour warns us that, “Gen Z-ers are being introduced to the idea of starting treatments early as preventive treatment. They are growing up in a culture of social media that promotes the endless pursuit of maintaining youth—and at home, some of them are watching their mothers reject aging with every injectable and serum they can find.” Gen Z-ers are still growing and many are still in puberty. By attempting to slow or stop the natural aging process, young people seek out treatments that could alter and change the way they look when they’re fully grown. While it can physically harm Gen Z-ers, the mental effects can also cause significant harm. They are oblivious to the ways in which buying treatments connects their self-worth to their beauty. The consequences of children being influenced by skincare culture could mirror the harm caused by previous toxic cultures. D’Amour points out that “The anti-aging craze comes with the same toxicity as diet culture does.” Diet culture influenced people to want to be skinnier. Anorexia was a large issue and resulted in many people hurting themselves to obtain the ideal body image. Similar to diet culture, the anti-aging culture puts pressure on young people to strive for unhealthy and unattainable beauty.

My friend was too invested in the looksmaxxing community. As he tried to achieve his ideal body image, his obsession led to him putting down and hurting others. While there are positive aspects of social media, these negative parts harm younger people who are vulnerable when it comes to their appearance. Even though my friend was putting others down, this community was also harming him, by ruining friendships. Some unlucky teens have to deal with crazy parents, who put their own insecurities on their children and reaffirm toxic cultures that enforce unrealistic beauty standards. Other teens can be affected in positive ways, if parents or role models teach them to accept themselves. In the future, if we want to feel good about ourselves, we must embrace our natural appearance and develop self-worth that is grounded in loving ourselves.

—Colin Wu, h.s. junior, California. Colin adds: “I am a Chinese and Burmese American, whose first language is English, and I am currently learning to speak and write Mandarin. My family, education, health, and religious beliefs are most important to me. I am very interested in environmental sciences and engineering. I was inspired to write this essay because of the harm this community has done to friends of mine.”

A Friend That Never Was

By maggie d., Washington.

Except for Erica and I
The playground was empty
And our laughter could be
Heard miles away
“Not it! Not it! You are it!”
She yelled
Beginning a game of tag

Seconds later
A white car arrived to
Pick her up
The driver was someone
I never saw before
“No matter,” I whispered
With a shrug
Resting my mind on
Tomorrow’s joy

But the next day’s gladness
Did not show
Angrily she blurted
“My Mom said you are a monkey
And I do not play with
Monkey girls!”

A bucketful of tears
Streamed down my cheeks
As I stared into an
Unfamiliar face at the
End of a fence
Making me wince
When she wrapped my hand
Around her light peach
Fingers and asked
“Will you be my friend?”

—maggie d., African American poet and educator, Washington.

The Presidency

There have been 45 presidents of the United States. The current one, number 46, has a similarity to all but one of his predecessors. They are all White, and all 46 are male. Asian Americans have been in the country since the 1800s, and have come nowhere close to the presidency. Could someone of Eastern Asian ethnicity ever become president of the United States?

Loyalty is an act of faith in which you do not betray or desert your cause no matter the circumstances. I believe most of the issues faced by Asian Americans are to do with loyalty. When using a search engine to research, the question, “Are Asian Americans loyal to the United States?” it distributes a plethora of discussion posts, disagreements, newspaper articles and more. For example, in a survey conducted by the Asian American Foundation of over 4,000 U.S. citizens, 32 percent agreed with: Asian Americans are more loyal to their perceived country of origin than to the U.S. I find this response disgusting and shocking. These questions and polls are not done on Irish Americans, Italian Americans, Norwegian Americans or African Americans; who whilst facing an uphill struggle in many areas, they would not be questioned if they are serving another country. Where does the questioning of loyalty of this specific ethnic group come from?

As an Asian American, I have not felt any urging for ongoing loyalty toward any country other than the U.S. In fact, Asian Americans have contributed to the United States as much as others. So what causes this unique form of discrimination? I believe one of these reasons is fear. For decades, the U.S. has been the world’s global superpower, with no country since the fall of the Soviet Union coming close. Over the course of recent years though, China has grown and empowered their economy, as well as modernized their military to the extent where there is a possibility of them overtaking the U.S. in a decade. Politicians, media pundits, and some American people are fearful of losing their global hegemony. I believe this fear has spilled into affecting Asian Americans citizens. The buildup of tension between China and the U.S has led to a buildup of tension against Chinese and other Eastern Asian ethnicity.

The coronavirus began November of 2019, and has only escalated this recurring issue. When the matter is brought up to classmates, all point directly to China as the one to blame. About 1.4 billion people populate the country of China, fingers pointed to every single one. During the coronavirus pandemic, the quantity of Asian American hate crimes increased rapidly. People of various Eastern Asian ethnicities were affected by this as well. The differences between Asian and American cultures itself is a leading cause, as we human beings tend to point fingers at those most different to us. For example, there is a mass of cuisine differences between Asians and Americans. Asian cuisine is based mostly on older type traditional recipes, including foods considered exotic to others. American cuisine is based highly on dishes from other ethnicities, although are home to modern dishes.

In addition to these previous points, whilst all nations have fostered racism, The United States has had government policies introduced specifically pushing these racist policies. When schools were divided into white and black, Asian Americans found themselves questioning where they belong. Asian Americans were not mentioned in the laws themselves, as if they were forgotten and the law makers didn’t know they existed. This sense of idea of being an “other” or not being a part of the nation itself I believe still carries on to modern society.

In conclusion, I do not believe an Asian American could ever become president. As much as we as the Asian American community continue to integrate ourselves with the nation, humans will always find a way to exclude parts of our people and treat them as outsiders. Asian Americans are constantly challenged on our trustworthiness, loyalty, and dedication to this country. Attempts to prove ourselves feel disregarded by the same continuous subgroup of people. I truly hope to be proven wrong in my lifetime.

Author’s Note:

In the past few weeks, the political climate has changed. Vice President Kamala Harris has become the Democratic Party’s nominee for the President of the country. She is half African American, and half Indian. Despite this sudden change, I still stand by my previous assertion. My piece is focused on Eastern Asian ethnicities, and their uniquely questioned loyalty to the nation. Kamala’s nomination is what I believe to be a step forward in our nation, due to her being female as well as a woman of color. However, due to the still-rising tensions with China, as well as the Coronavirus-19 pandemic, I still believe an East Asian American could not currently be elected the president.

—Abigail Lee, Age 12, Grade 7, Illinois. She writes: “I have a passion for writing. I enjoy reading realistic drama stories. I am socially conscious about Asian American discrimination in our country, in particular since the Coronavirus Pandemic. I am an Asian American, born as well as raised in Illinois. My essay focuses on my belief that an East Asian American could never become president due to racial discrimination.”

Embracing the Unknown

By Maggie D., Washington.

Her smile was as great
Big and beautiful as
A sunrise above the
Grand Canyon
Gripping the
Stars and Stripes
The Pledge of Allegiance
Was softly spoken
Without a hint of hesitation
Her human spirit
Held onto a future
Hope
Of making her free
From the tyranny
She once experienced
With a salute to her
Deepest desires of what
She was about to
Become

—Maggie D., retired educator and African American poet, Washington.

Summer Work

By Maggie D., Washington

Summer time is here
Gardens to tend
Money to spend
For back to school
Clothes
That are not too old
Bought at the thrift store
Some will need mending
Others will profit from
Two washes
My gosh
Summer is passing
As quick as a wink
When I think of the
Days disappearing among
The harvested corn
And winter squash

—maggie d., retired educator and African American poet, Washington. She adds: “Summer Work errupted from memories of my grandmother’s farm in Oklahoma.”

Smoky Skies

By Joyce Lazarus, Ph.D., Massachusetts.

Note: This is a fictional story, based on actual events. The names have been changed to protect the identities of the plaintiffs.

Rachel sits down on a riverbank, shaded by a giant cottonwood. Its silvery leaves turn in the breeze, shielding her from the stifling August sun. She stares at sunburnt grasslands and distant blue hills on her ranch in Montana, where her family has been ranching for generations.

Something catches her eye. She looks toward the west and sees plumes of dark smoke rising, reddening in the afternoon sun. Dark, billowing clouds are filling the sky, blotting out sunlight.

“Dad, do you see the smoke?” Rachel calls to her father.

“No. Where is it?”

Rachel starts running toward the smoke. She spots a wildfire in the distant hills, its orange flames devouring the withered forest. With no rain for the past three weeks and a severe heatwave, there is little they can do to stop wildfires from spreading. She already knows of twenty-five other fires this summer, less than fifty miles from their ranch.

How long before one of these wildfires reaches their ranch? How can they stop fires that spread so quickly, whipped up by winds?

The look on Dad’s face tells Rachel how concerned he is.

“Let’s hose down the house and barn,” he says. “We’ll bring in the cattle and horses.”

Rachel learned about climate change when she was eleven and thought it was something she could do nothing about. Now thirteen, she feels her stomach twisting into knots, panic surging. Her whole ranch could be destroyed! How can she stop something so powerful?

Every year there are more storms, droughts, wildfires, heatwaves―every kind of natural disaster. Rachel understands that burning coal and other fossil fuels are a major cause of climate change, but most people she knows do not want to admit this. They shrug their shoulders, saying, “Let nature run its course. We’ll get through this crisis like we always have.”

Many people do not see things as Rachel does. When she learned in science class that humans have only about seven years to act before irreversible harm is done to the Earth, it hit her very hard. She knows the feeling of smoke caught in her throat, of dense gray smog blocking out sunlight. She is just a teenager, but if teens don’t try to solve this climate crisis, who else will?

Rachel has nightmares about fires sweeping across her ranch. She sees herself racing to save her family, horses, cattle, and little dog, Felix. She wakes up covered in sweat.

***

She isn’t the only teen in Montana worried about climate change. Since joining a climate action club, Rachel has gotten to know Nora. Nora tells her that every time she hears about wildfires, it feels like getting punched in the stomach. When Nora watched Greta Thunberg on TV, speaking at the United Nations, asking world leaders, “How dare you?” it took her breath away. This was the first time someone close to her age expressed the anger and determination to do something that Nora felt.

Later that month, Nora brings her exciting news.

“There is a law firm, Rachel, “Our Children’s Trust*,” that can help us sue the State of Montana for not protecting us against climate disasters. I plan to join the lawsuit.”

“Really?”

“The state constitution says that all Montanans are entitled to a clean and healthful environment. When fossil fuel companies drill into the land, polluting the air and water, they disregard what science has been telling us for decades about dangers to the environment.”

“What do we need to do?”

“We should sign up as plaintiffs, to explain in court how climate change has harmed us, then talk about our fears for the future. We’ll tell our lawyer, Janet Olsen, what disasters might occur if we don’t act soon.”

“You’ve convinced me, Nora. I’ll join!”

“Your story is much more persuasive than mine, Rachel. Your ranch has come close to being destroyed by wildfires! Why don’t you represent our group and I’ll give interviews to the press? We’ll work together to win this case!”

Rachel, Nora, and fourteen other teens join the lawsuit against the State of Montana.

***

While Janet Olsen prepares arguments for the trial, Nora gives interviews to the press. Articles soon appear in newspapers all over the country. TV news anchors speak of “the kids who are leading the way to save the US from climate catastrophe.”

Rachel Heller gives her name to the lawsuit, “Heller v. Montana,” since her story makes the strongest case for acting quickly.

After three long years, their lawsuit makes it to court―the first time in US history that a kids-led climate lawsuit goes to trial.

***

One hot June day in Helena, Montana, the trial begins.

Teens stand up in court one after another to tell the judge how climate change is harming them.

Sara, sixteen, says that her life as a member of the Diné Tribe is completely tied to nature.

“We tell many stories to our people,” Sara says. “We can only tell a Coyote story if there is snow on the ground. But the time left to share these stories is getting shorter, with so little snow in winter. What will happen to our stories when there is no more snow?”

Lilian, from the Crow Tribe, speaks about a summer tradition, Crow Fair, with its rodeo, traditional dances, and parades. Because of intense heat, the fair was cancelled this year.

“If you miss Crow Fair, you’ve missed something that’s part of your identity,” Lilian says. “We’re taught that we have three mothers: your natural mother, your home, and Mother Earth. Taking care of all three is our responsibility.”

Rachel, Nora and others stand up and talk about the harm caused by climate change.

The judge thanks everyone for their testimony.

***

One day in July, the judge announces that she has reached a verdict. All sixteen plaintiffs file into the court and nervously sit down.

The judge reads: “We find the plaintiffs’ arguments for protecting Montana from the harmful effects of climate change to be convincing. We rule in favor of the sixteen plaintiffs.”

Loud cheers and applause greet the children as they leave the courthouse. Nora and Rachel lift their fists, crying, “We are heard! We are heard!”

Rachel later says to Nora, “We can’t save the planet by ourselves, but we took a first step. Others will follow.”

—Joyce Lazarus, Ph.D., Massachusetts. is a retired French professor and an author of a number of books. A grandmother to three children, Joyce has also published several children’s stories. She adds: “I feel inspired by my three grandchildren, and am concerned about the growing climate crisis that their generation will face. My hope is that young people, like the characters in this story, will find ways to mitigate the threat of climate change, to protect and preserve our precious Earth… My aim in writing this story is to show young people that they can help make a difference by recognizing that they are stewards of the environment.”

* Our Children’s Trust is a national nonprofit based in Eugene, Oregon. Their mission statement reads: “Our Children’s Trust is a non-profit public interest law firm that provides strategic, campaign-based legal services to youth from diverse backgrounds to secure their legal rights to a safe climate. We work to protect the Earth’s climate system for present and future generations by representing young people in global legal efforts to secure their binding and enforceable legal rights to a healthy atmosphere and stable climate, based on the best available science.
“We support our youth clients and amplify their voices before the third branch of government in a highly strategic legal campaign that includes targeted media, education, and public engagement work to support the youths’ legal actions. Our legal work—guided by constitutional, public trust, human rights laws and the laws of nature—aims to ensure systemic and science-based climate recovery planning and remedies at federal, state, and global levels.”
To learn more about them, please visit: https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org

Why Aren’t We?

By Henry Bakos, H.S. Junior, Washington

There are an uncountable number of things I should be doing.
This very instant.
The should-be’s of
working on late homework,
responding to friends,
thinking of my future…

But am I?
No. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

How many late math papers,
waiting friends, unplanned futures
do you think are out there? Why?

The mass of problems plague this world,
climate change, racism, homophobia, misogyny,
and the fact that kids are being slaughtered.
By their own classmates.
Why is nobody else climbing this bloody hill
to take down this monument of debt, death and deceit?

These things should be universally abhorrent,
they should be struck down the moment their ugly head
emerges from their loathsome den.

I’m just a White boy
who checks almost every box for privilege,
who hasn’t seen half of the atrocities that ravage our world.
Compared to many I live in a small, safe haven
that sure has its issues but what doesn’t, right?

I live shielded
in a society that covers up the very thing I’m being shielded from,
letting me ignore the beast
that ravenously takes black men
and imprisons them.
Or the ghoul that makes women watch over their shoulders
every time they leave their house.
Or the fiend whispering in Asian student’s ears,
making them feel worthless
when not living up to the stereotypes that plague them.

Because of who I am,
who I was born to,
who I wish to be,
I have not had to experience these,
only watch from out the window.
And even then, I know things must change.
Why does it seem that
not one person
seems to be sucked into this endless vortex,
this gyre of problems,
that seems to conquer anything foolish enough to approach it?

But wait.
Maybe that’s the problem.
Maybe nobody is willing to sail into this whirlpool
for fear they will be sucked down
and have left no more impact than a small wake that quickly fades
too fast for anyone to even realize it was ever there.
But surely it can’t swallow us all.

Surely if we just tried hard enough,
if we were smart enough,
and if we read the wind,
we should be able to find a path through it,
and get to the beautiful warm shallows
where we find nothing but a cool breeze
and the water is so still that
there is not even a pull of the tides.

—Henry Bakos, High School Junior, Washington.

World Environment Day, June 5

The World Environment Day, June 5

Snow-fed mountain streams bring us water year around. Photo taken in the Oregon Cascades by Arun N. Toké.

Greetings! We wish you all a very happy World Environment Day, being observed today (5 June 2024) around the world with the theme of Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.

World Environment Day is one of the biggest international day for remembering our relationship to the environment. Led by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and held annually since 1973, it has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach (similar to the Earth Day that has been observed in the United States since 22 April 1970). It is celebrated by millions of people across the world.

Our Backyard Garden. Photo: Arun N. Toké

Early this morning, as I began my day, I ventured out in our backyard garden, nibbled on a handful of berries that had ripened, and looked at how the garden was doing in the warm, late spring weather. Then later while I bicycled to work, I enjoyed the clean air that I breathed in and appreciated the shrubs and trees that enlivened my way to work. This daily, relaxed way of commuting to work gives me some time to think on what I need to focus on at work and to plan my day to achieve the needed tasks.

Without the natural environment (aka biosphere) that makes life on our precious Earth possible, we simply can’t exist. We owe Mother Nature our immense gratitude for this lifetime of opportunity to experience the incredible beauty and complexity of life.

Vultures Devouring a Dead Seal on the Waldport Beach, Oregon. Photo: Arun N. Toké

Let us do everything humanly possible to keep the biosphere intact. Let’s appreciate what nature has sustained for millions of years. Human life has been around for just a small fraction of that time. True, with our intelligence and industry, we are able to alter the natural conditions in our surroundings for our temporary pleasures. And that is a big problem! We don’t see the long-term impact of what our technology and industry, economic and political systems, and greedy ways are able to do.

Land restoration is a key pillar of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, which is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Visit the World Environment Day website.

As we observe the World Environment Day, I would like to leave you with some images I carry with me on my cellphone. Whenever I look at them, I remember my immersions in nature—be it working in the garden, camping, hiking, and wandering through the woods, rafting in a river, kayaking in a quiet lake, or feeling tiny in the vicinity of the Pacific Ocean—that these moments represent.

Pacific Ocean near Yachats, Oregon. Photo: Arun N. Toké

Three Sisters, Oregon Cascades. Photo: Arun N. Toké

Many Great Blue Herons Enjoying a Winter Afternoon near the Delta Ponds, Eugene. Photo: Arun N. Toké

A Big Compost Bin in my Friend’s Backyard Produces Rich Soil for Garden. Photo: Arun N. Toké

Paul Dix’s Lettuce and Chives Patch Produced Tasty Greens! Photo: Arun N. Toké

“Walking Onions” in Paul Dix’s Garden Provide Onions, Season after Season! Photo by Arun N. Toké.

Whispers in the Waves

By Ella Schott, h. s. junior, Connecticut

When she first arrived in the small town, she realized how much quieter life was on this side of the world. Everything moved slower in a village that was cradled by the ocean, rocked to sleep every night by its gentle lull. There was a rhythm to life in a world so remote from everything that moves to tick of a stopwatch. Milliseconds and seconds dividing up the days until life is fragmented, shattered by time. To some it is a mosaic, but others can’t swallow the shards.

Few nervous tics remained with her, the scratching at her ears, rubbing of her eyes, clicking of her fingernails. She could walk in silence without the need for a drone in her ears. When she first found herself able to exist in the silence, she was brought to tears.

One afternoon she wandered down to the shore, stripped off her sandals and made her way into the open arms of the ocean.

Since she was a little girl, and her family first visited the ocean, she could hear the waves calling to her. She had lived by a beach, but this was the real ocean, not one gripped by land.

Dancing with the waves, back and forth, the foam playing at her feet. Finally, she gave in, picking up her skirt and running full force against the waves. When she was little her mother would try to hold her hand, pull her away from the rapture of the waves. Her mother would explain that one should wait until the waves receded, then dash for deeper water. But she always plunged in just when she knew she might be knocked down, when the sea was beckoning to her with curling foam.

She reveled in the thump of the wave against her torso. A few more steps and she dove under the wave, eyes pressed tightly together. When she emerged, she could float on her back on waves that were yet to be born.

Lying there, she watched the sun crisp the tops of the waves, closing her eyes every so often. The ocean wrapped its soothing fingers around her.

I wish I could lay here forever.

—Caecilia (Ella) Schott, high school junior, Connecticut. She writes:
“I am an avid writer. My cultural background is German and Norwegian, but my family has been in America for a long time. I speak English and recently earned my seal of bi-literacy in French for speaking, reading, and writing… I find comfort and companionship in animals. I also foster cats, and volunteer at my local pet store. My dream is to become a professor of English and History. I was inspired to write this short story by my own connection with nature, and fear of losing it.”