Hi! My name is Bridget Williams and I am a Junior at T.C. Williams High School (yeah…we have a movie and it is called Remember the Titans) in Alexandria, VA. One thing I want you to know about me is that one day I hope to help someone somewhere. I know that this statement sounds very vague, but every since I was little I have always wanted to help people. Thanks to PGC I have realized that I even though I am young I can help people. PGC has helped me realize that the little things I do in my daily life impact the lives of others. For example, by buying Fair Trade items I can help small farmers! Furthermore, I decided to sign up for PGC because I wanted to see how sustainable I really was. As a member of environmental clubs at my school I thought that I was environmentally conscious, however, PGC made me realize things that I needed to improve upon that I did not even know existed. Many of the things PGC taught me I knew were present in the world, but I never really applied them as closely to my life as they actually were. For example, I knew about the concept of fast fashion, but I was not aware that so many stores in the United States do it (this was the most shocking thing to me). PGC gave and still gives me a new outlook on life. Because of PGC, I really think about how my choices affect the environment and others.
Learning, Impact, Global, Green, Hope
Out of all the experiences I have had participating in PGC, the most memorable for me was learning about fast fashion. It made me upset to find out that large companies who have the money and resources to pay their workers fairly and be equitable all around participate in something like fast fashion. Also, it sickened me that I did not even know what was going on. These companies have millions of customers that are unaware of what is going on and how they are impacting the lives of workers.
Over the last thirty days I have learned a lot about myself. I began PGC to see how sustainable I was, but I ended PGC with the urge to create resolutions for myself. PGC has made me realize that I was not as sustainable as I thought I was. I am immensely grateful for PGC because it has made me look at things in my life in a completely different way. Before I would throw a straw out and not realize how big of a negative impact that one straw could make. Now I am conscious of everything I do and its impacts.
