Not as easy as it seemed

Change is hard. And it’s easy to get discouraged when you try and don’t get the results you were hoping for. But the reality is that just making the effort is actual progress. Change is not an event with an exact start and stop point; it’s a process. Each step I have made, even if it’s a relatively small step is still a step in the right direction, bringing me closer to my ultimate goal. My goal, to setup my wires in one power strip, in a convenient location, so I would be able to unplug the strip which would turn everything off in a quick timely manner and essentially saving me time and wasted energy. At this point, with some of the obstacles that have stood in my way, I am somewhat contemplating if this was the best plan of action.

I started my sustainable behavior on a good foot. I was consistently remembering to go to all of my power strips that I set up and just pull it out of the wall. It was quick as I planed it to be. Unfortunately, recently, I have neglected my sustainable behavior act. My illegitimate and immature reason is that I rush out of my room leaving me not able to focus on my ultimate goal of saving time and energy. Furthermore, I sometimes find myself going to my electronic equipment(speakers), start to use it, and it wont work. Forgetting that I unplugged them, I drive myself crazy checking my equipment to see if there was something wrong. But after about 5 minutes of mental torture, I remember that it was just unplugged. Assuming that people are as forgetful as I am, forgetting that you unplugged something makes you ask questions, is it really worth driving you crazy? Is this the best way to be sustainable?

An article on dailynexus.com by Lauren Barnum talks about the implications of unplugging and how it affects the planet and your wallet. “At a current price of $0.13 per kilowatt hour of use, you’re simply throwing money away by leaving your electronics on and plugged in.” When I read this I was stunned. I thought about all of the students and how many things they have left plugged into the wall. Now putting a price to the amount of energy it makes me realize that this behavior is important. It hasn’t had the biggest impact on me but I think that will change.