Be Mindful of Your Imprint on this Earth

Something I never really acknowledged until I traveled was my imprint on this earth, and the consequences of my actions.

A little back story: I used to always dream of going to Santorini, Greece since I was in middle school and I pictured once I got there that I would ride a donkey. Why? Because that's what people do in Santorini in all the movies... duh. Come on, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? Something so magical about seeing the girls getting swept up the side of the volcanic cliffs on a donkey (why a donkey made it magical, I don't know) to start their vacation in paradise. So, just like that: "Ride a Donkey in Santorini" got added to my bucket list. No seriously... written down verbatim on my bucket list (I have a very serious bucket list okay, if I want to do something I am writing it down to make sure I can physically cross it off once I achieve it).

Then, I get one step closer to crossing this item off my bucket list by booking a trip to Greece in September 2017, one month after my now husband was due to return from his deployment. I am stoked... finally get to go to Santorini... finally get to ride a donkey and all my Hollywood dreams for this destination will come true. I even tweeted about it (back when I had mad Twitter fingers and tweeted everything *sigh* - do people still tweet anymore?). "I'm so excited to finally ride a donkey in Santorini!" After this, I got a reply from an account named @Santorini_Donkey that pleaded me not to ride any donkeys on the island as the donkeys are being abused for tourism. Immediately my heart sunk, and I began to research the topic. Turns out, this is a very real issue on the island of Santorini and it is highly encouraged that tourists do not pay to ride the donkeys there, as they are in fact being abused and mistreated to comply.

Knowing this, I could have still gone ahead with riding a donkey because I'm just one tourist and by not doing it, I wasn't going to directly affect the treatment of those donkeys... right? However, I am an animal lover... and I am anything but a hypocrite. Despite my lifelong dream to ride a donkey on this beautiful Greecian island, having learned the truth, I could not allow myself to be that type of traveler. A traveler that doesn't give a crap about my impact on the earth and what the consequences of my decisions are. I simply erased the goal from my bucket list. I may be one person, but change starts with one person choosing to do or not to do something and then spreading the word so that others will follow.

Since that occurrence, I realized I had to be a traveler that does research on everything before I book anything. I would never want my actions or interests to reflect poorly on 1) me as a traveler 2) me as an American or 3) my overall judgement as a human being. If I want to utilize my platform for good and for my voice to be heard, I have to start with being someone that sets an example, and someone that follows through on my own beliefs and passions. This has made me a lot more insightful about my direct impact on this world.

I had the same dissonance occur when we were planning to attend the Yi Peng Lanna International Lantern Festival in Thailand during our honeymoon. Literally planned our entire trip around this one event. But then being as environmentally friendly as I am, it crossed my mind that this event could very well be a complete environmental disaster. So before I purchased any tickets, I did mounds an mounds of research on this specific event to ensure it would not go against my values, and to ensure I would not be contributing to an eco massacre. (For the record, I learned that the lanterns are 100% biodegradable and the event itself had to go through months of regulation approvals to put the festival on, ensuring there is no harm to the environment. Also note: Please never take it upon yourself to release lanterns on your own, as there is no control and that can heavily lead to disaster).

Basically, sometimes actions that we think are harmless are in fact the opposite. At the end of the day, I've had a lot of dreams crushed because I realized what goes on behind the scenes, and as a result I've opted out of doing some of my lifelong goals. But in reality, if I had just pretended I wasn't making a negative impact and did those things anyway, I would have walked away feeling worse about it in the long run.

We as humans need to get it out of our head that we are only one person, and that if we don't make the change ourselves, it's not going to really go noticed. One topic that really lights a fire in my soul (if you know me AT ALL you know where this is going...) is the whole plastic waste debate that is literally running rampant across America. This is honestly the easiest way we as individuals can do something to directly affect our imprint on this earth. But the counter arguments are literally illogical. "America isn't a global contributor to plastic waste", "It's on the producers" "Plastic straws are hardly a problem compared to much bigger problems."

***It's only one straw*** - said 8 BILLION PEOPLE.

I do not think I will ever understand why people find a counter argument to this "debate". WHY is this even a debate? The day we all realize we don't have to take a stance on EVERYTHING, the more productive we will be as mankind.

Point blank, I do not give a crap if America is the problem. I will also refuse to neglect this problem simply because there are, in fact, other problems in this world that are extremely important. Since when did that mean we need to belittle this one? "You know there's bigger problems." By that standard, absolutely nothing in this world matters if it's not literally the worst possible thing happening. In my opinion, if you are one of those people that counters every argument with the classic "there are more important things" comeback, you, my friend, are a part of the problem, and not the solution.

The fact of the matter is. This is OUR home. Yes, ALL of us. We have one planet. One earth. And we as humans are ruining it. Because overall we as humans are not mindful and simply don't seem to care about our imprint. This is ALL of our problems. And until we realize that the earth belongs to all of us, we will never make progress. Until we see an urgent need to all work toward fixing this problem, our planet will continue to die. And by the time most of us realize it's severity, it's going to be way too late.

Having a voice on social media has always been so much more than just growing a following to me. While I love to share about travels, offer tips and encourage you all to get out there and SEE this beautiful world, I also want to use it to raise awareness about things that I find extremely important to me, and what we should all see as important to us as human beings. I don't expect anyone to be perfect, as I am far from it when it comes to understanding my imprint on the world. But together we can learn.

Below are some suggestions I can offer for someone who does want to understand and improve their imprint, and how they can get started toward making a positive impact.

1. Do your research. I explained this above and can't stress it enough. Educate yourself about the consequences of your actions. Does this mean you can't allow yourself to do anything that may have a negative imprint? No. I get on planes all the time and we all know that's not exactly having a positive imprint on the world. There has to be some give and take. But if you are at least mindful of your choices, and you directly understand your impact, you'll start to make decisions that are for the better. When you are more actively conscious about your choices, the results will surprise you.

2. Ditch plastic! Of course in the society we live in, it can be hard to do without it 100%, but start with what you can. Reusable everything is literally your key - and yes, they make reusable EVERYTHING. We have pretty much converted our home into a plastic free household and are transitioning to paper free as well. No more plastic bags, straws, zipblock bags, etc. Everything has been replaced with a reusable alternative. We even have started composting! I have linked below some of the products we use in our home that has helped us go plastic free (click each image for direct link to purchase). They are great alternatives and guess what, they save you money in the long run!

Foil insulated bag

Mesh produce bags

Beeswax wrap

Shopping & produce bags

Silicone food storage bags

Reusable makeup remover pads

Bamboo travel cutlery set

Reusable q-tips (it sounds gross but it's not that bad)

Machine washable bamboo towels

3. Walk/Bike when applicable. Do you have a short commute to work? Opt for biking. Are there certain errands where you really don't need to get in a car ... get some exercise instead. Otherwise try and opt for public transportation if it's offered or set up a car pool (this is actually a huge perk in some states, like California, because that means you get to drive in the carpool lane and you cruise through traffic a lot quicker).

4. Eat less meat. Now, I am not a vegetarian/vegan by any means. And I know a lot of people will take this to contradict my love for animals. But my thoughts on killing animals is just this: kill for the purpose of food, and that's it. No torturing. No abusing. No excessive killing and waste. Keep a healthy population balance. But overall, it's better globally if we as consumers are not eating nearly as much meat as we are currently. Without meat and dairy consumption, global farmland use could be reduced by more than 75%. Loss of wild areas to agriculture is the leading cause of the current mass extinction of wildlife. I am not intentionally attacking farmers here, as I am grateful for our farmers! But we need a healthy balance. Cutting back on our meat intake as a whole is probably the single biggest way to reduce our impact on planet Earth, not just in greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use.

5. Rethink. Refuse. Reduce. Reuse. Refurbish. Repair. Repurpose. And last option: Recycle!

People automatically assume the biggest contribution they can make to the environment is to recycle, when honestly that should be your last option in a long list of alternatives on steps you can take first to cut back on your environmental imprint. But, if it comes down to that... DO IT. Don't take the easy way out and throw everything in the trash. I understand some states make it harder than others, but at least research what's offered in your area and make an effort. Also, be mindful about how you recycle. You need to be sure you rinse out everything you put in the recycling bin because if you don't, waste management can and will throw away everything that is coated in any food products (like if your spaghetti jar breaks and splashes all over everything around it). Also don't recycle your pizza boxes for the same reason... they won't recycle anything that has food remnants on it and instead will be quick to throw away everything in the bunch. Lastly, take the paper wrapping off of your canned goods before you recycle, otherwise those will get tossed as well.

I am always looking for new ways to move toward a zero waste / plastic free lifestyle and to learn more about improving my imprint, so if you have suggestions or insights let me know! Like I said, we are in this together! It's a never-ending learning process but it's one of the most important things we can do for ourselves, our home and our future generations.

"The world doesn't need a couple of people doing zero waste perfectly. It needs millions of people doing it imperfectly."