Different views

I absolutely love sharks, the way they move, and the way they gaze at you, seeing you for who you are. Being around sharks makes me remember that humans are animals and without them we are simply clusters of stardust in the ever-growing universe.

I go to a school filled with amazing people. Atlantic college, which is a united world college, brings students from all over the world to work in one campus and to share their views and ideas to other cultures. Talking to people here about animals and the way they are seen is incredibly gratifying but also a wake up call. People are genuinely not aware of the cruel fate happens to sharks everyday, let alone the thousands of other animals falling under humans continuous need to control and consume.

I have talked to many Chinese and Asian teenagers about the issues of shark finning and also other topics such as whaling in Japan. Most of them either don’t understand why I am so concerned that sharks are killed in this way or didn’t realize that it was happening. They just saw the soup as a good thing as it showed status. Or they ate the whale meat because it was compulsory to eat it at school. The few that did know about the cruelty behind the slaughter of these marine creatures didn’t think it was right and stopped consuming it or they would say it was disrespectful not to eat it, as both countries are very much about respect, especially to your elders.

Maybe people are just too different to come to together to make a change? I think that anyone who says that humans cant find harmony and understanding are crazy, being surrounded by so many different views has made me realize that harmony can be reached. Yes, some days it is tested and arguments can be had but not a day goes by at my school where I don’t see something that makes me smile. Being here has made me realize that I can’t just give up on humanity; I can’t let myself believe that the world would be a better place without us. We may not be the healthiest species for the planet but we deserve to be on this planet, to make a difference. 

What we have to realise is that the hardest step is deciding to make a difference and then making it happen.