My Why: In 2020, I lucky enough to be have an opportunity to step back from fast paced life I had been living, take a look around, and research many hours into climate change, our environmental impacts, and what we could be doing better for our planet. This sparked a love and passion in me for environmentalism and that's why I'm here today! To protect our planet, our future, and our home.

I had such a great experience during Ecochallenge this year. Big shout out to all and to our Emerson Austin team! May we keep up the great work all year round!

Shout out to Emerson-Austin team :-) We made it to the finish line. So proud of us!

This month, I made a point to keep ecological impact in my conversations with people - something I've always held back on out of fear of being labeled a buzzkill. And maybe I was a little less entertaining to some, but there is also a chance that someone was able to resonate with something I said. After all, someone saying something is how I first started learning and caring about a lot of things.

Word of mouth is a powerful force, it is best if it's used for good.

End of EcoChallange 2025! What a time it was, thanks for participating!

Yay! we made it to the last day! Everyone finish strong!! <3

Started using peppermint essential oil as a natural spider repellent. Apparently, many bugs, spiders, and even rodents are deterred by certain scents, notably citrus, peppermint, and eucalyptus. About a month into having sprayed potential points of entry, we have not seen a single spider in the apartment, none in the car, but still an occasional morning spider on the car. Turns out they don't get much of a say in what to land on when they "balloon", peppermint or not.

Overall, I'd call it a success!

Quote of the day "Winning doesn't always mean being first. Winning means you're doing better than you've done before." - Bonnie Blair