Name: Josiah Tan Yi Tzer

Date: 15 April 2024

Title: You are taking part in a beach clean-up and discover that you can speak to sea
creatures. What are they saying, and how do you respond?

Last week, my family and I decided to do a beach clean-up in Penang. The beach was
super
gross, with trash everywhere. We started picking up some of it, but then I saw these
adorable sea creatures peaking out of the water while I was grabbing a plastic bottle.
I didn’t want to scare them, so I approached them slowly. But they still panicked, like they
thought I was going to hurt them. So I tried to show them that I wouldn’t hurt them. Then,
something crazy happened—we started understanding each other’s language.
They told me about their friend, a turtle, who died because it ate a plastic bag, thinking it
was a jellyfish. It was heartbreaking. I knew I had to do something to help.
That night, I spilled the beans to my cousins, and we brainstormed ideas like crazy. In the
end, we decided on making posters about stopping pollution. Halfway through the process,
our parents found out what we were doing and decided to help us.
The next morning, we went back to the beach and started to put up the posters we spent all
night making. And guess what? People actually started paying attention! They stopped
throwing trash in the sea and started using the bins.
After putting up all the posters we created, I saw the same exact sea creatures looking
directly at me. I walked up to them, and they thanked my family and me for trying to help
them. It felt amazing to see them happy because of something we did.
The whole experience made me realise how important it is to look after our planet and all
the creatures living on it. Even though I’m just a regular person, I can still make a difference.
That’s pretty awesome.