Thrill-Seeking for Nerds (who want to change the world)

Happy late Earth Day! Last Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and focused on the current theme of climate action. What are the climate activists of today up to? Well, here’s how Earth Day 2020 took shape in my community... Imagine this: You’re standing on the football field at school on a warm spring day. Two-hundred fifty students from so many different grade levels are standing with you, holding signs and wearing old field day t-shirts with new messages spray-painted onto them. “Green New Deal,” “Good Jobs,” “Liveable future” are the words of the day. All this started when we all stood up and walked out of our 5th-period classrooms. In February, that’s what we thought Earth Day would look like at my school, when we began our Sunrise Movement strike circle. As you can see in the video above, we even started to make our signs and t-shirts before Spring Break! Plans changed because of social distancing and online school, but I’m still so proud of what we achieved....

I realize that for a global health advocate , I haven’t written about COVID-19 on this blog for a while. I suppose that’s because I’ve been writing guest posts for other sites, and by the time I get back to my own blog, I don’t have the energy left to add anything of value. But today, let’s look at three challenges/opportunities for daily life during the pandemic. Do you like my homemade mask I made with my mom? It matches the colors of this website! 1. Stay home Please practice social distancing as much as you possibly can! This is an act of kindness to keep everyone safe. I know it’s frustrating, but if we want things to get back to any sense of “normal” we need to stop the spread of COVID-19 first. There has already been a death in my neighborhood from coronavirus, and I’m worried that if people don’t take social distancing seriously, there will be more. 2. Stay sane High school, middle school, jobs and just plain life always have their challenges. They don’t seem to get a...

Hello! My name is Janvi. I am so stoked to be guest blogging with Yara, and it was so kind of her to write a post on my blog as well! I recently created a blog of my own, Janvi’s Introspective and Interesting Ideas, after wanting to find a way to document some of my thoughts and introspection during this period of social-distancing and much time spent at home. My blog is a representation of my own research, ideas (hence the name!), and whatever advice I have to offer. The general nature of my blog is formatted to be like a conversation with a friend or a family member where I enjoy encouraging discussion (in the form of comments or simply internal musings). In the spirit of conversation, I figured I should introduce you to who you are “talking” to. Hi, it’s Janvi! How’s it going? I hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy! I am currently a high school junior from St. Louis.  I am part of a family of five. I have a younger brother who is cooler than I ever could be, a...