Inspiration

Hello, guys!

Today, I'm writing something different for a change: I decided that I should tell you a fictional story about a girl who, inspired by a role model, sought to make her community a better place regarding the environment. I wrote this about two years ago: it's nice to read what I've written back then myself.

Also, you can definitely look forward to more creative writing entries as my next one is going to be a poem.

If possible, please let me know in the comments if you enjoyed the story and what I could improve/add to it!

Note: The story is slightly modified.

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Once, there was a girl named Angelina. Angelina “Angel” Dominguez. She was 11 years old, a dark - haired 6th Grader who lived in Canada. She was an average student, got good grades, was pretty sociable, and hoped to be an environmental scientist when grown - up.

She loved her family, friends, the planet, enchiladas, music, dance, running, swimming, and the latest summer gear. She was leading a pretty normal life. 

It was April, days after Spring Break had ended. Today was Earth Day.

Angelina’s friends (Betty Roberts, Josephine Michaels, Marie Jensen) walked with her to school, which was only half a mile away.

“Hey,” Betty said. “Happy EARTH DAY!!! I got my green - and - blue shirt on.”

The rest of the girls said that they had Earth - related wear on too as they continued walking. 

Angelina came into her classroom with her bag. She got worksheets, folders, and a binder out, put some of her things in the locker, and settled in as the 8:30 bell rang. 

Her first class to attend was Math. As they were doing algebra, Angelina paid attention as much as possible. Then came History. In Science Class, though, the teacher (Mr. Dennis) talked about something else than their usual astronomy and forces of electricity and magnetism. He talked about someone named Joanne “Jo” Alberts. She was an activist and a computer scientist. She stood for the planet, Earth. She started when she was 12 years old --- only a year older than Angelina. She held protests, performed speeches to crowds of people around the world, and she held meetings about it. She tried hard to make people understand what she meant.

She also planted trees, shrubs, and herbs. She made sure that her house was eco - friendly by turning the lights off when they were not necessary, taking showers often, and turning the heat down by two degrees.

With her computer science abilities, she created a website that reached far places to teach future generations about how important it is to stop Climate Change and how important it is to care for the planet.

Even though most other kids took it as part of the school day, Angelina did not. In fact, Angelina was fascinated. 

Next, as part of Earth Day, they went to the school garden to plant things. Angelina loved it. With her friends, she dug a hole in the ground, and they put an apple tree (basically the sapling of one) in there. They also planted tomatoes, chilis, chives, bell peppers, beans, and squash. The girls were really excited. At lunch, they got their lunches out.

“What was your favorite subject so far in school? Mine was Science,” Angelina said to start the conversation. “I loved learning about Joanne Alberts. She’s so cool!! 

“It was also absolutely wonderful to go outside in the cool breeze and just sit down and start planting our own food,” Angelina told them. “I really like the feeling because we were helping the Earth.”

“Well, I really liked that,” Marie admitted. “But I just didn't  like the fact that there were so many bees around! One almost scared me out of my wits . . . it was about to sting me!!!”

“To be honest, I liked history the most but it was really fun to go out,” Josephine stated.

“Same with me,” Betty agreed. 

They chatted around through lunch, but during that, Angelina was thinking about something else, too - Could I do something special for the planet other than gardening at my school? She definitely did not want to do the exact same thing Joanne Alberts did, but she wanted to help the planet so much.

After school, she walked with her friends, said goodbye to them, and headed to her house. She set her bag down.

No one was home, which meant that her parents were still at work. She washed her hands. She got her empty lunchbox and her bottle and washed them along with other kitchen things in the sink as a treat to mami. She did her homework and took a walk outside. Nature is so beautiful, she thought as she walked around. It really was --there were green and majestic trees towering over her, cute little shrubs huddled together, and vegetables and fruits hugging each other in her elevated garden.

She went back inside with some fresh peppers, tomatoes, and beans for cooking. She texted her papi and mami what she was going to cook--a tamale pie, some rice and beans, and some tomato soup. Her papi instantly replied that she was a good girl and that his return home might be a bit delayed. She looked into a recipe and started cooking. After cooking, she served the dishes on three plates, put other plates as lids for two of them, and ate from the last one.

After she satisfied her hunger, she started thinking. She did a lot of brainstorming of what to do for her environment. Then she got her idea: starting an Earth Club. This club would do all sorts of eco - friendly things - recycling, collecting litter, gardening, putting posters up about Earth, doing bake sales to support organizations standing for their planet, doing read - alouds to younger children on books about Earth, teaching little children, doing walk - a - thons, competitions, and . . . . yeah!!!!! She was a pretty sociable girl, so she would have no problem trying to convince others to join her club!

Mami was the first to return home, and when she saw the dishes washed and the food prepared, she greeted her daughter with a thankful smile.

“Thank you so much for doing all this!! By the way, how was school today?” Mami asked. 

“A - MAZ - ING!!!!” Angelina replied. “In Science, since it was Earth Day, we learned about this activist and scientist Joanne Alberts who tried so hard to help the Earth. We also participated in planting vegetables and a tree for the school garden!!!

“Also, Mami . . .” Angelina explained. “I was so fascinated by what Joanne Alberts did that .  . . I wanted to do my own thing to help the Earth. I want to start an Earth Club, with so many activities!! Please, can I do that?”

“Oh, Angel,” Mami said, smiling. “I’m fine with you starting an Earth Club. All I want, though, is for you to set a good time every week for the club to do things, a time when you don’t have anything else necessary to do. But other than that, it’s a great idea.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you SO MUCH!!!!” Angelina exclaimed. “I’ll make a list of everything I need to do for the club, and once I’m ready, at break time in school, I’ll ask my classmates - maybe even my whole grade - if they’d like to join my Club!!” 

After smiling and saying another thanks, Angelina sprinted at top - speed to her bedroom. (“Slow down!!! Don’t run!!!” Mami told her) She got a sharpened pencil, an eraser, and some paper. She wrote the description of her club:

EARTH CLUB - Description:

• Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m., every Sunday

• Meeting place: Backyard of my house

• Club uniforms: 

• For girls: Sky blue dresses with words “EARTH CLUB” on front (and Earth with sparks coming from it) and motto on back; green pants with Earth design; navy blue boots; two pigtails on either side for hair; if hair isn’t long enough then leaving the hair out is just fine

• For boys: Green & blue shirts with words “EARTH CLUB” on front (and Earth with sparks coming from it) and motto on back; green pants with Earth design; navy blue formal shoes

• General place we’re trying to make eco - friendly: our town, Nelson, Canada

• What we’re going to do: 

• Recycle

• Pick up litter

• Educate younger kids about how important Earth is to us

• Do read - alouds to younger kids about Earth

• Do bake sales and lemonade stands in support of organizations trying to help Earth

• Do walk - a thons and competitions

• Do some gardening

• Design, create, and put up posters about caring for Earth

• Equipment (a lot):

• Uniforms

• Books about Earth

• Pairs of gloves

• Trowels

• Shovels

• Spades

• Shears

• Garden scissors

• Hoes

• Garden hose

• Weeders

• Watering cans

• Gardening forks

• Nets

• Baking recipes

• Flour, salt, water, sugar, and other baking ingredients and materials

• Lemons, sugar, and other lemonade - making materials

• Paper

• Pencils, Coloring Pencils, Crayons, Rulers, Erasers

• Recycling bins

• Trash bins

• Compost bins

• Large crates

• What our motto is: Never wait for the change, ACT for the change.

• Why we want to do this: We want to show everybody that we CARE for our planet and that everyone else should try and join the fight to stop global warming

After writing it, she stood up and stretched. Then she realized that if she wanted a club, she needed everything for it. After Mami was done eating her dinner, Angelina showed her her description.

“WOW!!!! That’s a lot there,” Mami said after reading it. “You really did think of everything. All we have to do now is see if we can find the equipment for your club, and things we don’t have, well, we might buy it.”

“Wait . . . you’re actually saying that I can do everything and get everything?! That’s great!! Thanks again, Mami.” Angelina said.

After they checked their house, they realized they had everything except the uniforms, of course. But they needed more supply of the things if Angelina was going to have a club. But they didn’t know how much they needed for each thing.  

So Angelina decided that once she goes to school, she would ask who would join her club, find how many people would like to join it, tell them that it’s not going to start right away because they didn’t gather all the equipment yet, and come home with the answer as to how many of each thing they needed.

When Papi came home, he also agreed to her club plan.

The next day, she walked to her school as usual with her friends.

“Guess what?” she asked them.

“Uhhh . . . what?” they all asked.

“I’m going to start an EARTH CLUB!!!” Angelina told them cheerfully. 

“Whoa, there,” Josephine said. “Did I just hear that you were going to start a club? An Earth Club?”

“Well, yeah,” Angelina exclaimed.

“That is AWESOME!!!!! Can I join it? PLEASE??” Marie pleaded.

“Of course! That’s why I mentioned it!” Angelina replied. “It’ll be lots of fun . . . so many activities!!!

“There’s one thing, though.” Angelina said. “We didn’t gather enough equipment. I came here to see how many people are going to join my club so I would know how much equipment I would need.”

“Okay, then, I’ll join if the day and time is right for me,” Josephine said. “Did you plan that yet?”

“Yep, I did. I planned everything, actually,” Angelina said. “2:00 - 3:00, every Sunday. Is that okay for you all?”

“Mmm - hmm,” her friends sang happily.

At Break Time, everyone ate lunch and went outside to talk with others, take in the fresh air, do exercises, and study for tests.

Angelina, meanwhile, was going to people and asking if they wanted to join her club. This was her table:

The rest of the 6th Graders said no, and Angelina did not want to put all that effort in just saying that the rest said no. All she needed to know was how many said yes. From her chart, she figured out that 6 people said yes. Since she was the head of the club, she should be included, so that made 7 in total.

When she came home, she said how school was to her parents, and that six people accepted her invitation to join the club. She explained that since she was going to be involved as well, the total would be 7.

They got everything they needed. Mami was good at sewing and creating shoes, so she helped her daughter create the uniforms. After all the hard effort, seven uniforms were made with one having an opposite color than the others --- a nature - green dress, navy blue pants, and calm green boots - that represented the head of the club. They borrowed 21 books, bought 4 pairs of gloves,(they bought 4 because they already had 3 of each of these things) 4 trowels, spades, shovels, shears, garden scissors, hoes, weeders and gardening forks. They got 2 recycling bins, 2 trash bins, 2 compost bins, 7 nets, 28 baking recipes, a lot of baking ingredients, 49 large papers, 7 sets of art supplies, and 6 large crates. (Don’t think they did it in only one whole day; they took 3 weeks)

By this time, Angelina’s friends were practically asking Angelina every day if her club was ready. On May 14, a Friday, she finally announced that it was ready. Everyone who wanted to join the club was really excited. At 2:00 p.m, Sunday, the group met in Angelina’s backyard. Everyone tried their uniforms on. To Angelina’s delight, they fit perfectly!!

Angelina handed a paper to each person saying all the rules of the Earth club, also having a signature at the bottom so they could officially become members:

EARTH CLUB - RULES:

1. Never be unkind or act in a rude way to one another

2. Despite any differences, always try to work together

3. Handle the given equipment properly; if you don’t know how to use it, then ask the head of the club for help

4. Never discourage yourself or others; always try your best

5. Be loyal to each other and help others when it is needed

6. Always know your cause: to help the Earth be a cleaner and greener place

7. When you need a break, tell the head of the club; there’s absolutely no need to feel ashamed or embarrassed

8. When you have something else necessary to do during club time, you could either email or talk directly to the head of the club about it

9. Follow your motto: Never wait for the change, ACT for the change.

10. Have FUN!!!!!! - There’s no competition here!

If you promise to follow these rules, then write your signature here: ___________

After they all read the form and signed it, they got started. Angelina said that the first thing they were going to do was pick up the litter around the neighborhood and sort it into recycling bins, trash bins and compost bins. Along with schoolwork and getting the equipment ready, Angelina had been researching a LOT about cleaning Earth and knew exactly what to put in which bin. Some members knew that too but others did not. They put their gloves on and started picking up litter. Angelina helped members who didn’t understand what to put in which bin. At the end of the hour, the club had picked up and sorted out every piece of litter in the neighborhood and even a bit outside of it. They all did high - fives, thanked the head, and went back home.

Like that, weeks passed. Every day they tried something new. One time, they did a whole bake sale, selling everything - cookies, cupcakes, muffins, brownies, munchkins, donuts and cake pops. They donated all their money - $95.50 - to an organization called the Earthly Organization. They read many books about Earth to kindergarteners, first graders, second graders, third graders, fourth graders and fifth graders. 

They did gardening and planted trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, shrubs, vegetables and fruits. They held walk - a - thons, penny drives and swim, run and bike competitions. They put up a lot of posters about how important Earth is and how we should care for it.

The club lasted for a long time. When they got older, they spread around their whole town. After some time, they spread around the whole Canada, and many people heard of their movement. It made a huge impact on the planet, and everyone worked together to slow Global Warming down by a huge amount.

Years later, they did.

THE END

Works Cited:

Image from:

17 Ways to Find More Inspiration and Meaning in Your Daily Life | The Social Media Butterfly (socialmediabutterflyblog.com)

Story by:

Meera Naveen (author/owner of blog)