Why settle for graduation when you can save the world?

Stop moaning about not getting a job. Those of us graduating now have much bigger things to worry about. The other day I had a conversation with my mum where she admitted that, given the state of the world, she almost regrets bringing my sister and me into it. I was taken aback because I had never heard her talk like that before. No, I insisted, it’s not all bad. Granted, a lot of it is - climate change threatens the world with intense storms, increased flooding and droughts, reduced food production, water scarcity, higher rates of disease, and millions of refugees fleeing from these problems. Don’t assume it won’t affect you: it will.

But crisis brings with it opportunity. It may be daunting that it is up to our generation to save the world, but it is also hugely exciting (although admittedly, I would rather that everything was all okay in the first place). Necessity will give us the opportunity to create a new society, and if you want one that is moulded to your own values and beliefs you had better sit up and start paying attention.

But people will never change, my mum told me, they're just too used to being told what to do. I’ll concede the latter; blame whoever you want – the state, mass media, consumerism, the parents – people are used to being lazy, apathetic and self-centred, and this needs to change now if we as a species are to survive the next few centuries. But I don’t think that the problem is down to human nature. The problem is down to hope, or rather, the lack of any. People have been told what to do (or had their choices narrowed down for them by what is considered acceptable or achievable), for so long that they no longer believe that they are in control of their own lives. We are incapable of thinking outside the box, and no, the irony of using such a horribly cliched phrase to express this is not lost on me.

Lifestyle choices for graduates have been narrowed down to a ‘choice’ between law, the civil service and finance (the credit crunch has not done much to alter this). People feel tied down by their mortgage (ditto) and unable to take risks. Though most importantly, people feel helpless and hopeless in the face of the world’s problems. We seem to lack the imagination to envisage a world in which we matter, in which each of us can make a difference, but if we all stopped moaning and started acting on our beliefs the world would change. I honestly believe that. I belive that you can make a difference, and you should too, or else what kind of life are you going to lead. You can do anything you want to do, as long as you never give up.

In the words of Rebecca Solnit, ‘It is always too early to go home.’ Our only hope of avoiding a climate crisis is to start believing that we can, and to start acting on those beliefs. Fast. History shows us the difference that individuals can make: Mahatma Gandhi, Emmeline Pankhurst, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela… the list is endless. So don’t just strive for that big promotion, a new car, the deposit on a house; you deserve better than that. Aim high and help create the world in which you would like to live. And with that, I’m going to say goodbye, because this is the last eco column I’ll ever write. You’ll next hear about me when I’m awarded my Nobel Peace Prize.

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