Emilia's Story

I want to be a vet. Or the President of the United States. Then again, being a lawyer could be fun to. What the heck! I'm 12, I don’t know! Being asked to write about what your goals are is a hard question when you're 12. When I got asked about how I was going to be a leader my jaw dropped. I mean, What? I know I want to be a leader. I want to be a part of the fight for cancer, I want to prevent teenage drug use. I would love to be in a protest march against war. I would love for the world to be a perfect place, a lot of people would. That can’t happen over night. It would take a lot of people and a lot of time. I understand that, and I know it will be tough, but still, I want a part of it.
Earth camp is great. Even though I learned some pretty disgusting and sometimes boring stuff, it was worth it. I got the message. The world is a special thing. And if dumb people are going to be stupid and destroy it, we need a leader to change the way we live. To green our world back to a safe, clean, beautiful place. If we don’t stop driving polluting cars, and we don’t stop using water we don’t need to waste, the world will be a bad place. We need to come together, form a community, a team, and stop it. It can not be just one person alone. We need many people to join. But, it can take just one person, one voice, to start it.
I want to be a part of that voice.

I’ve had fun at earth camp. We learned some pretty cool, stuff. We went to a poop farm, (or in nicer terms the sweet water sewage treatment plant) and met the master of all dung. We counted the rings on trees. We spent time getting to know and hanging out with new people, and, well at least I did, we had fun. We learned so much I would have to write for days. I loved learning and being a part of it. It was a really special experience. I feel very honered to have earned the right to be a part of it.
My favorite part of earth camp was camping under the stars. I’ve never done that before. That was awsome. My friend Maggie and I stayed up late just looking up at them. We even saw a shooting star. I will forever cherish that night with, laughing qietly under our sleeping bags trying not to wake others, spraying bug spry in each others faces, and and watching a space shuttle pass by. That was the first time I really felt connected to the desert, and for that matter, nature in general.
We learned so much about water. My favorite was that we have had the same amount of water on earth that we had on the very first day the sun came up on earth. That amazes me that we could be taking a shower in water that a cave man drank or a dinasour walked in, or rained down the day that man created fire. That is so absolutly amazing. Its mind boggling to think about.
What I’m going to do to conserve water is not to let the water run in the sink when I'm cleaning my animal's tanks. And I’m not going to run a half empty dish washer. I'm also not going to throw clothes in the wash when I’ve only worn them for a couple of hours. I am also going to time the amount of time my sprinkler is on in the front yard. I've been meaning to look up the amount of time needed to water a garden efficently without wasting water by watering to much.
I hope I can do earth camp again next year, I will look forward to it all year. This was the highlight of my entire summer. I will come back to school with fresh knew ideas. And new thoughts and views of the world. I will let my voice be heard and I will change the way I live. Even if I become a vet or a lawyer or the president of the united states I will remember my promises to the world and its people. I will do my best to teach others about my veiws. And tell them my ideas and my thoughts. I will listen to others ideas to. Maybe there others out there who care. If there are then let us come together and make a change. A change for the better of this planet and her people. A change that means a better place for all, a better place for me. I care. I know I do. I will make that change.

Also a special thanks to Amy, Holly, Franklin, Elizabeth, and Aletris. Earth camp would not be as excellent without you. Thanks for your time and your love to all the earth campers.