As each new day comes and goes, I find myself looking back on some of the comments students have made about studying the environment and our impact as humans on the planet. One comment sticks in my head, it's so depressing. The fact is, it's difficult to talk about what we're doing to the planet and make it sound like things are just peachy. I found a comic strip from Rustle the Leaf that explains it all.

As much as I tried to honor the students wishes this year and say at least one happy thing a week, I found myself at a loss most of the time. It can become tiresome and even frustrating when all you hear is the bad and never the good. Unfortunately, it is the time we live in that makes it necessary to trudge through the constant state of depression in order to find the happiness on the other side. I would like to share with everyone the words of a student who shall remain nameless. These words are part of the reason I keep moving forward in my efforts to teach a subject I am truly passionate about.

You've given us knowledge we could never forget and a responsibility that, though it may oftentimes feel like a burden, is the greatest gift anyone could ask for. As we go to begin our lives and pursue our dreams, we'll be turning off the lights as we leave rooms, driving fuel-efficient cars to work, living in solar-powered homes made out of recycled material and, most of all, trying to get the rest of the world to see what you have shown us.

This is the duty I charged myself with when I began my teaching career and more often than not it does feel like a burden. Even so, I can't think of anything I would rather do. We must keep moving in the right direction if we are to break out of the depressing time we're in and enjoy a happy world. I believe everyone is capable of leading us down the right road.

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