Journal Entry#2: Creativity

This winter break, I decided to focus to better myself empathetically and creatively through helping others in a variety of ways. It is really important to grow as an individual for yourself but a way to grow is helping and learning from others. One way I grew from something I did to help in the creative department was in Mauritius, East Africa. I stayed there for a week, at a beautiful hotel with my family; in this hotel there was a place called Junk Art, this consists of a place in which you create art with the use of recycled items. Once I saw this creative activity that was part of the daily curriculum and schedule of the hotel, I was definitely amazed and it really made me think about Costa Rica and the importance of recycling and preventing plastic from taking over our oceans and environment. I definitely wanted to have this activity be part of my schedule because the idea of creating art with junk instead of throwing it away, is extremely innovative and crucial for our environment. For my art piece, I used a variety of different items that can be recycled and can be presented in an art gallery for the future. It’s important because we save water and energy and it’s good for the planet. Since we consume less energy thanks to recycled materials, we emit less CO2. This is important because CO2 is a greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. Of course, creating recycled art isn’t the solution to prevent plastic litter for our environment but it’s surely an amazing, creative and visionary idea for the avoidance of plastic pollution. I didn’t just create junk art for the fun and creative idea of it but I learned so much about plastic and how recycled materials can really make a difference. For example, recycled paper production requires 2 to 5 times less energy and 3 times less water than if paper is made from virgin fiber from trees. It is estimated that the recycling of paper avoids each year the emission of nearly 390 000 tonnes of CO2, that is to say the equivalent of emissions of 200 000 cars per year. It is so important to think before acting, if we provide change in our daily routines, we will see a difference in our environments whether it’s on land or sea. If we want to sustain a healthy world, it’s not too late!