Wangari Maathai and Oprah Winfrey

Wangari Maathai is the name that comes up in my mind when I think of the word environmentalist. The amount of efforts and achievements she had accomplished throughout her career will carry its aftershocks for decades to come. If I want empowering quotes and advice I can always look to Oprah as my Dr. Phil. Oprah has gone to defy both television and social assumptions that a woman of color can't be a billionaire. From the movement that gave future and present generations a reason to rise and walk, to becoming one of the most wealthiest and successful people in the world. These two have proved that nothing is impossible. My goal is to further empower their messages of change through a small start: an environmental club and then working my way into initiating inspirational and environmental change in my community and eventually my country.

My first step in spreading the message of change is to start an environmental club. By giving awareness around my school about what we are doing to our environment and what we can do. I'll be setting an example to my fellow students that progress can be made even though it's little at the moment. Doing this would hopefully spur students into the action of wanting to help improve the habitat around us also. Once a good portion of students and staff have begun to support the club, my next step would be to push onto social media and reach out to other schools to follow in the same steps towards the improvement of our environment. "The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but on significance--and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning."- Oprah Winfrey

Pushing onto social media may seem redundant at first, but you look at today's society it's the breeding grounds for either getting instantly famous or gaining notoriety the fast. From the trends of the ice bucket challenge to the cinnamon challenge. These are examples to what we can do to give awareness to people that their contributions and efforts mean something. With social media I can help make planting trees or letting your voice be known around the community that you reside in a trend so that people can see this as the new thing to do as "first world" "It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees". Wangari Maathai

My final step is to have the environmental awareness and efforts become something more addressed and done more often rather than just being a run hit wonder. Too many times have I seen charity cases or helpful humanitarian acts notoriety be known for about a few months then drown in the static background of my TV. The goal of my spread of influential change is to have this become so mainstream that it's talked about as often as the Jordan product coming out.

From the movement that gave future and present generations a reason to rise and walk, to becoming one of the most wealthiest and successful people in the world. These two have proved that nothing is impossible. My goal is to further empower their messages of change through a small start an environmental club and then working my way into initiating inspirational and environmental change in my community and eventually my country.