The Finale

My community is my three roommates. In our little niche, sitting atop Watson Hall, in our corner of the world we all kick it on the futon and talk about the days events …and whatever else is on anyone’s mind. Lately, electric use has been at a low and there are notes littering the room. Some of which have stayed stuck to the walls and doors, others whose adhesive components were not too strong, remain on the floor as we make a concerted effort to not step directly on the little reminders that say “SHUT THE LIGHTS FOOL” and “BRO, YOU UNPLUG YOUR STUFF?” This has become comical in the room but I must say that my roommates have done a pretty swell job of assisting me with this Sustainable Behavior Challenge even though they did not have to do it. We are all a bunch of chatterboxes and once they gained a little perspective about the position I was taking from the knowledge I have gained in the classroom, questions ensued and sure enough they caught on within a week. My biggest barrier is direct roommate. He DJ’s so its tough to keep him off the electronics for more than an hour. It seems as if every time I come into my room he is here and pumping out techno beats as I attempt to plug my ears. The mayhem going on inside my head after leaving an Applied Calculus class is only amplified once I walk through the doors and get smacked in the face with seventy-five decibels. In regards to my group, Team Energy Use,  it is nice knowing that we all struggle with similar things (roommates) and have made some strides towards permanently changing the behavior.  Having people go thru the same things as you in life, on any scale, makes adaptation and adjustment that much easier. Reflecting on this whole experience was pretty wild. It started as an assignment  but quickly grew to be a major pet peeve of mine once I would return and the lights were on. Once my friends caught on it was even cooler. If I forgot to turn off one of the lights, as there are 6 switches in our room, all three of them would jump down my throat and say I was a hypocrite. It was fun and a pleasant experience, and now I am just more aware that of the impact we each have on the world. There is no finish line in sight, so just keep going until someone tells me otherwise…I guess.