Reflection

The second half of this school year has been a tremoundous journey. When I first got

back from winter break my friends and I talked about senior project a lot. In fact it felt like that

was a huge topic for the enitre class. The following weeks included many conversations that

revolved around questions like, “What’s your project” and “What are you going to write about”.

For me that was a huge problem, I was interested in so many fields and I could not settle on

which one to choose. Even after I started on a question and stuck with it for a month I still felt

like my question lacked depth. On the day that the project poster was due I decided to change my

question into one that I was excited about researching: How does the country where someone

resides affect their carbon footprint? I set out to find out more on the topic and educate myself to

be an expert on my question. At first it was really hard trying to find research that pertained to

my specific question. Much of the climate change research primarily has statistics and numbers

that correlated to something much larger than a carbon footprint. As I conducted more research I

was able to find articles that would bolster my paper. I discoverd the different approaches that

you could approach my question in. At a glance the question seems one-dimensional and pretty

straight-foward. However, through interviews and research I was shocked to figure out the

multiple facets of the answer to my question. My mentor was crucial in letting me know how to

find an answer. When I first thought about the answer it was pretty obvious, of course the

resources and state of your country determines what your carbon foorptint is. When my senior

paper started to reach its 6 page I realized there were way more factors, government, natural

resources, the type of energys that your country uses, your income level and more are all factors

in determining your carbon footprint. On the other side of the process I was quite excited about
starting on my senior project. I planned on building planter boxes for Northgate and volunteering

at a local garden. I have always loved gardening so for me the project was not going to be a

hassel. Sadly, I was not able to start on either due to the Covid-19 crisis. I still plan on building

planter boxes and maybe dedicating to the class of 2020 along with my friends. My topic has

influenced me a lot. I have always been involved with enviornmental clubs since middle school

and this project and paper have given me the oppurtunity to form my own thesis and take on the

situation. I plan on volunteering at enviornmenatll focused organizations and maybe even

minoring in enviornmental science. Whatever is the case, I am sure that I will utilize the skills

that I have gained from Senior Project to good use in my future endeavors.