Anybody can Change

Anybody can Change By: Reiji Rommel D. Catalan B2 8-Aristotle

It’s the year 2053. The thirst for better technology and improved comfort in the lives of the people caused them to put global problems like pollution and climate change to the back of people’s minds. Because of this, the number and intensity of natural disasters increase exponentially. There were a few people who knew that climate change was a problem and they tried to spread the word, but to no avail, people just ignore them and move on with their lives. One of these people is a man named Greg Tinsel. Greg is a young man, of average height, working at a stable office job. He’s married with two children whom he deeply cares about. Throughout his life, he notices that the base temperatures for each year is slowly getting hotter and hotter, and the beach he visits from time to time is getting higher and higher. At first, he thought it was unusual, but may just be his imagination. He also noticed that there were more natural disasters were being a lot more frequent. He tried to just carry on and continue this ignorant lifestyle until one day… Greg is in the process of his usual morning routine readying himself to go out on a road trip to have some family bonding time. They planned to go and visit different landmarks of the country in the course of 3 days. They planned this trip for 2 weeks and its finally happening! They were all excited to see these amazing sights they saw in the internet. They finished the preparations and set off into an adventure. It took them hours to get to their first destination, Agas-Agas bridge. They planned to grab breakfast on the way and eat while watching the utter beauty of the landscape below, but when they got there, it wasn’t as what they thought. It was still pretty, but you could see some of the spots of the forest floor from the bridge. They thought nothing of it and started eating, but then they noticed there was a number of trash on the bridge itself. They picked it up and put it into the trash bags they brought in the car. They ate breakfast outside and gazed at the sight before them. They quickly finished up and left after a few family pictures. The next location was Lantawan peak southeast of Agas-Agas bridge. They ventured to that location and noticed that the Pungkay mountain park was in the area. Greg has been to the Pungkay Mountain Park when he was a child, and really enjoyed it there with the comfortable temperatures and beautiful skies. He insisted in stopping there with his family for some pictures and a personal nostalgia ride. When they got there, he noticed that it was a little hotter than he remembered. He was sweating a bit from how unusually hot it was. They took some pictures and left to go to Lantawan peak which was towards the east. When they arrived at Lantawan peak, they also noticed that the clouds were getting darker. They felt it was gonna rain so they booked a hotel near the mountain just in case a

typhoon comes. They had planned to stay there and watch the sunset, and then eat dinner at the hotel, but night came quick and the sunset ended before they could reach the peak. Then, suddenly, rain falls. The dark clouds covered the sky as it poured down rain on them. The ground became wet and soggy. They knew a typhoon was coming due to the unusually humid air around them, but they didn’t know it would come this quickly. They were a little less than halfway reaching the peak before the typhoon came, and the hotel was at the bottom near the coast. Greg pulled out multiple blankets and gave it to his family so they can be sheltered from the rain. They started running as fast as they can to the hotel, but they were still pretty far from it. Along the way, they found a place that could shield the rain so they went there to rest and catch their breaths. They stayed there for about 5 minutes and went on again. Greg predicted they were about 7/8 of the way there. They pushed through the exhaustion and the weakness they felt and finally reached the hotel. The kids seemed so tired it looked like they were about to faint. The staff assisted them in getting to their rooms as well as giving towels and the like. They had already Once Greg and his family dried off. They wanted to go to sleep immediately since they had run so far and so quickly in a short amount of time. Once they put the children to sleep, Greg checked the bags if they missed anything but felt so drowsy he fell asleep on the floor. Greg had a dream that he and his family lived peacefully in a house they built by the coast. The air felt so clean, the water they drank was so pure, and the surroundings itself was beautiful and breathtaking. Everything seemed so perfect. Greg subconsciously knew that this was the perfect future for him. Then suddenly, the world before him began to fade. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was sand. A lot of sand. The temperatures was also hot. He began to question where he was and how he got there. It was just a few moments ago that he and his family were living happily in their dream home. He looked around for his family, but to no avail. They seemed to have just disappeared from thin air. Questions started flooding his mind. What was happening? Where was he? How did this happen? Then, he heard a voice that eerily sounded like his own. “Climate Change.” The voice told Greg. He had so many more questions after that, but then he woke up. He was sweating in the couch. He was shivering even though he had multiple layers o blankets. He got up and tried to look for his family. He found them in the bedroom, his children laying on the bed. Their faces were red and they were also sweating badly. His wife was trying to comfort them and gave them what they needed. His wife asked if he felt

okay and asked him to buy some medication in the pharmacy down the street for the children. He agreed and went on his way. While buying medicine for the children, he began to think about the dream he had last night. He wondered if climate change was real and if it was really a big problem. He remembered when he was a child that there weren’t as much typhoons than what it is now. He thought he might just be overthinking it, but the possibility still exists. Once he got home he gave the medication to the children and researched about climate change and if it was real. He found out that it was in fact real and was a big problem. Sites he visited stated that the government ignored this problem for the advancement in technology. They prioritized making better equipment for daily use instead of actual global problems that could harm the future of the planet. Then, Greg remembered what he heard in the dream. “Climate Change”. What can he possibly do against this global problem. If he wanted to help the planet, he needed to get the following of millions of people, and make it big enough governments notices it and takes action with it. He really wanted the future he first saw in the dream. The second future he saw was one he wanted to avoid at all costs, so he thought of sharing this information in social media. If he shares the idea with others, they can realize that this is a major problem that needs to be addressed. After this, he goes back home with his family after they recovered and rested for a week or two. He requested that he would take a 2 week leave from his job to focus on his family. In his break, he decided to start taking action against climate change. He wanted to do whatever he could to stop the dystopian future he saw in that dream. He shared sites, vocalized his opinion about climate change on social media and tried to share videos about it to as many people as he can, but only acquired a few people helping him grow. He then found out he could make videos of his own on the internet and tell about it there. After a few months of slowly gaining popularity, he finally blew up. He quickly reached a following of about 1 million subscribers after he remastered his video of the road trip he had a few years back. People liked his content because it was as educational as it was entertaining. He was finally able to inspire people to care for the environment. He felt that if he just kept this up for as long as he could, he would be able to reach his desired future. So he kept going, and going and going until he grew old. It’s the year 2116. The environment had surprisingly changed over the course of just 60 years. People seemed happier as they went on with their daily lives. The air felt so fresh, and the water was so clean, it’s hard to believe that climate change was a problem 60 years ago. A good part of this future was made by a man named Greg Tinsel. Greg is an old man living with his wife in their dream home. Their children live with them taking care of them. Since the children already had children of their own and those children are adults now, the

children of Greg Tinsel wanted to take care of their parents. Greg had retired long ago when he was in his 60’s. He made online videos about the environment long ago due to him apparently having a dream about a dystopian future caused by climate change. He followed his heart and wanted nothing more than to prevent that future to come to fruition. That’s why he made those online videos so he could make a happy future for everyone. Greg Tinsel was an average man, who once also never cared for the environment claiming it wasn’t his problem, but now he changed himself, so he could change the things around him. On his death bed, he was surrounded by all his family and close friends. He was so happy that he felt as though he could leave everything to his children and die peacefully. With his last words he said: “Anyone could change the things around them if they just opened their eyes and set a clear goal. A simple and average person could change the world through willpower, hard work and a lot of luck. This is why I believe that I can die peacefully, knowing I contributed to this beautiful future I acquired. Thank you for sticking with me and loving me till the end. I will always be gra….” He suddenly stopped talking. It was like he used up all his strength just to say those words. The people wept at the sight of his sudden death. The news of his death was spread quite quickly around the world. The news that a man that made this future, had left us. Reiji Rommel D. Catalan B2 8-Aristotle