So, I used to get into a lot of trouble. When I was a teenager, I used to sneak out of my house, because I wanted to go out. When I was younger, I didn’t realize that when I thought about going out, what I really wanted to do was connect with nature. I was going out; I was having a lot of fun. Yet at the same time, it was never fulfilling me the way that I would’ve liked to. So, on my 21st birthday, still with the same mindset of going out, I decided to take a trip, a girls trip to Miami. I was coming from Long Island, New York, and I was with two girls that I was close with at the time, and nature was the last thing that was on their mind.

(01:01)
They had wanted to be inside the hotel, texting, and I’m like, “We’re in a whole other state. This is my first trip. It’s my 21st birthday. I want to go do something.”

(01:13)
So, I decided to book us an excursion, a nice little boat trip. Even then, they were sitting on their phones, but I was enjoying it. I took a beautiful photograph of the water, and it had the boat in it, and it was nice. Everything went great. I didn’t really have too many outstanding memories of Miami. So, I went back home. Nothing much changed, still getting in trouble, but that’s okay. And then, a few months later, I went to Miami again with two other friends. Equal experience, sitting at home or where we were staying. They didn’t have any desire to go outside, and we were scheduled to stay for a weekend and they left. And I ended up staying for two weeks. So, I put my studies at risk. I was a full-time student at the time, and I had my professors calling me like, “Hey, where are you?”

(02:14)
And I just didn’t really care, because I fell in love with Miami, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I wanted to be here all the time. And I decided to pursue an artistic passion of mine, and I succeeded with it. I realized that I could be here doing what I loved in a place that I loved, and I decided to run with it. So, I was making money, creating art, and I decided that this was what I wanted to do. So, I worked hard to achieve that. So, for the following four years, I was coming to and from, I would take a flight right after classes on Friday and I would come to Miami, and I still had the same mindset of partying. So, I was going out, I was enjoying the weather, but I was also enjoying all the activities that Miami has to offer.

(03:02)
And as time started going by, I ended up realizing that my mindset changed. Instead of just wanting to go out and enjoy the weather, that I wanted to build a family down here. So, I got really excited and I decided that this was my life’s goal to move to Florida and I achieved it. I now live in South Beach and it’s very beautiful and exciting for me. And I’ve also fallen in love with the sea, being around the water. So, I’ve made my life’s dream come true. Yet at the same time, when I speak to people about wanting to raise a family down here, they discourage me, because they tell me that it may not be the best place to raise a family due to the weather. So, I’ve never experienced flooding the way that I have here in South Florida. And also, hurricanes have never been an issue for me, coming from New York.

(04:00)
So, recognizing that this could be a potential problem, it’s put fear into my mind about when and if I do have children, their safety. And also, my safety, the protection of my assets and everything that I’ve dreamed of and obtained. So now I start thinking about what I can do to be able to better my future and also to inform other people. So, I like to be an advocate for things that I believe in. And I work with children, so I want to talk to them about recycling. And I also want to talk to them about things that they can do starting early.

(04:43)
So, I recycle a lot. Actually, pretty much everything, I find use for it. And I’m an artist, so I like to create art from repurposed material. I recycle milk cartons, I recycle boxes, cereal boxes like what I had for breakfast, recycled that today. And I have partnerships with companies that are able to bring classes for students and children to be able to create things that they’re able to use from recycled materials and learn at an early age that consumerism is something that we need to control and monitor, and repurposing is beautiful. So, I leave it open-ended for everyone that is hearing my short story today about what you can do creatively to be able to accomplish a more sustainable environment, and also to protect yourself and your future families. And that’s it.