GRETA THUNBERG
“I want you to panic,” she told the annual convention of CEOs and world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act.”
gRETA THUNBERG
Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg is widely known for bringing significant attention to the climate crisis and being an advocate for political change. At her young age, she has already accomplished many great things and raised significant awareness.
At a young age, she persuaded her parents to adopt lifestyle choices that reduced their carbon footprint. Thunberg’s activism, fundraising, and protesting also allowed her to become Time Magazine’s youngest person of the year in 2019. She was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice. She has addressed heads of state at the U.N. She inspired 4 million people to join the global climate strike on September 20, 2019, becoming the largest climate demonstration in history. She founded a movement known as Fridays for Future.
Greta Thunberg’s strong activism is much needed in today’s world. Global warming is a real issue that many people do not give enough attention to. Furthermore, it is difficult to stand up for a movement at such a young age, as older people tend to not give younger people as much credit or authority. She stated that it likely falls upon younger generations to “clean up the mess you adults have made.” It takes a lot of courage to be able to criticize world leaders for not addressing the climate crisis properly.
I want to become more like Greta Thunberg. Maybe I won’t be addressing political leaders head on, but I want to be more aware of how my actions affect the environment and have the courage to stand up for what’s right. In order to reach the future that I wrote about, Earth has to survive, and that power is in our hands.
“We can’t just continue living as if there was no tomorrow, because there is a tomorrow,” she says. “That is all we are saying.”
gRETA THUNBERG
ELON MUSK
In my opinion, Elon Musk has succeeded in many ways that I want to succeed. (I would like to begin by acknowledging that I understand he has said many controversial things and been involved in numerous scandals. However, I am reviewing his accomplishments from an entrepreneurial perspective.) Although many may argue that there are no ethical billionaires, many of his inventions have proven that he is a very successful innovator and entrepreneur. Musk co-founded PayPal, revolutionizing digital payments. Musk founded SpaceX, a company that focuses on building affordable rockets and spacecraft. Musk was one of the major early founders of Tesla, manufacturer of electric automobiles, batteries, and solar panels, becoming its chief executive officer in 2008. These are only a few of Elon Musk’s accomplishments. It is highly likely that this kind of technology is the start of future technological innovations that will come later.
From a young age, Elon Musk already had a passion for entrepreneurship. At the age of 12, he created his first video game called “Blastar.” He earned $500 off of it when the source code was published in a magazine. He went to the University of Pennsylvania for college. When he graduated, he enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Stanford but ended up dropping out.
According to Google, Elon Musk’s net worth is 184.7 billion US dollars. While I would love to make a lot of money, I don’t see myself aiming to become a billionaire. What do you even do with all that money? With that much money, you could probably solve many of the world’s major problems. You could probably make a large dent in solving world hunger and poverty. If for some reason I become a billionaire, I would (hopefully) donate my money to solving these crises.
Similar to Elon Musk, I want to be unafraid of taking risks. However, I would probably aim to use my social media platforms to spread kindness. I do not support his character, as I know that he said tweeted many controversial and hurtful things, but I would like to be a successful entrepreneur.
