This is My Home -Saving The Colorado River

I moved to Colorado when I was 5 and I immediately fell in love with the mountains. I vividly remember seeing snow for the first time - the experience was pure magic. In these beautiful mountains I learned to drive, fell in love for the first time (and a few more times after that) and have had my heart broken more than once. I have made life long friends and lost a couple along the way. I have made many snowmen and created many more wonderful memories with my friends and family. I have scared my parents to death and made them proud.

I have recently been working on an awareness campaign for the Colorado River Crisis. To sum up all of the scientific papers and news stories I have been researching - we are running out of water fast. Because of an unprecedented drought caused by Climate Change and over consumption of water we have to make massive changes in the way we live and consume water quickly or risk water shortages for the 7 States and 40 million people that rely on the Colorado River in the next several years.

Taking in this news felt like getting hit with a sledge hammer. A lot of the Climate Crisis seems so abstract - I love Polar Bears but I have never seen one in the wild, and parts per million is just an invisible number. This however is something different. This is my home, this is the water that my friends, family and community rely on. The more I dove into the news and research, I noticed some intense emotional reactions in myself. I found myself looking into Student Visas in Canada, researching the safest states from Climate Change and obsessively emailing State Officials and Environmental Organizations.

I finally took some time to sit down with the strong emotions that I was feeling. I felt afraid for my friends and my family, I felt grief for a safe and stable future. I slowly surrendered the reactive urges to fight or run away. I noticed beneath these feelings an intense clarity and love. I love my friend, I love my family and I love my home - this beautiful state Colorado that so many people call home. 40 Million is a lot of people, a lot of lives and a lot of stories each as rich and beautiful as my own. This is my home and whatever the future may bring I am committed to acting from my love for the people in my life and the land around me.