I am a fourteen year old climate activist often troubled with finding a balance between hope and realism. On the one hand, we’ve all heard the story that globally we are doing nowhere near enough to stop the sixth mass extinction. On the other, if that’s the only fact we look at, then how will we possibly inspire others to act if they are already convinced that their decisions make no difference on a larger scale?

In order for us, as the human species, to have any success in curbing our emissions and reversing climate change, we need to re-educate ourselves on what the climate movement should look like on an individual level. 

Across environmentalists, actions we can take are far too often expressed as each of us needing to do the same thing: Everyone should eat less animal products. Everyone should buy an electric car. Everyone should convince their family and friends to do the same things that they are doing. Looking at these ideas realistically, they are nowhere near achievable for a vast majority of the world’s population. 

Injustices in economic status and privilege prevent most people from going vegan or switching their ways of transportation. Furthermore, individual change is only one level of climate action. Systematic change needs momentum and attention as well. 

But as far as individual changes go, the idea that we should all take the same actions is created from trying to simplify the solution. We all have different resources that we can invest in making environmental progress, whether that is time, money, or our specific strengths and skills. Since what each one of us has to offer to the climate movement is so different, the changes each of us should make are also different. There is no one-size-fits-all option for stopping a worldwide crisis. Climate change is a vast, complicated issue that has far too many roots and embedded issues for it to be addressed with one type of change. 

Instead, individuals need to start with why they care. Making impacts on such a devastating problem is not going to happen successfully if we are not motivated and excited about it. Therefore, changes we make need to come from each of our own, unique places of passion. 

If you care about the warming earth because of the nature it is destroying, maybe you start with joining a group dedicated to land preservation. If it’s because of how disproportionately climate change affects people of lower economic status, maybe you work towards getting renewable energy to poorer communities. If it’s because of your religion, maybe you talk to people with the same beliefs as you about making changes. Whatever the reason is, there is a part of the climate movement out there that you can contribute to. 

And whatever your values already are, at least one of them is connected to climate change. From there, it is just a matter of finding that connection and acting on it. 

Addressing the climate crisis will be near impossible if our actions are not strongly backed with passion and perseverance. To get to this point of strength, we need to act from the heart, with the intention of preserving what we each uniquely care about.