The sun is absolutely extraordinary. It is the brightest star in the sky, spreading its shining rays to every individual on earth. It fills me with such joy on sunny days. The sun stains me with its endless light and provides me with constant serotonin. Without the sun I feel small, like something important is missing in the world. To wake up to birds chirping and light spilling through my curtains is a privilege that I could never give up. Which is why I am now filled with such dread and sorrow- because I can't see the sun. 

My daily dose of happiness has disappeared, rapidly out of sight. All it has left in its wake are endless gray clouds of smoke from the countless wildfires engulfing California. My window is flooded with darkness, and serves as a constant reminder of the disaster we are facing. This year, we’ve reached record-breaking heatwaves (and a new high in LA county of 121 degrees, to be exact), causing more fires to burn in California in 2020 than in any other year- around 7,718 fires by September, with more than a few million acres destroyed. Although I haven’t been directly impacted myself, these fires have had devastating effects on so many families who were forced to leave (or may have lost) their homes, as well as the countless wild animals dying and struggling to relocate to new areas, plus the mass burning of trees causing huge C02 emissions, worsening the climate crisis... California has hit a new high, and it's only going up from here. 

We are past the point of denying the existence of climate change and global warming. It is very obviously present and already causing harm to this earth. We are seeing its effects all around us- in these current fires, glaciers melting, sea levels rising, increased heat, etc- climate change is HERE. We need to take action before our earth dies; before it becomes inhabitable due to our own filthy activities. Now, it may be difficult to find the motivation to do so in the current chaotic world we live in, but change is necessary and very urgent. We must vote for the right people who will truly understand and care about the state of this earth and hold them accountable for enforcing policies that will better the environment. We can protest, speak up, limit individual transportation, use less electricity, renewable energy, and so much more to help stop global warming (Plus, you can always look up solutions online! Most are pretty simple if you commit to it). And maybe one day, we will be able to put the sun back in its rightful place for good, to give us warmth and happiness once again.