Inspiring student lifestyle

As an environmental studies major I interact with a lot of people who have the same values and goals as myself, so it’s not often that I meet someone and am impressed by their lifestyle. But today, while interviewing an SCU student who has a garden in the yard of his off-campus house, I became increasingly inspired by his house’s commitment to living sustainably.

The house was like something out of my dreams with the stunning bikes throughout, climbing gear, and the incredible windows in the kitchen (although it wasn’t quite up to my near OCD standards of cleanliness). It seems like most college students don’t cook and have no clue how a kitchen even works, but when I walked in one of the student’s housemates was making himself lunch and a kale salad for everyone to share. They compost all of their food and yard waste, and their compost goes to enriching their small backyard garden. The garden itself was growing swiss chard and other edibles to be enjoyed by the residents. They also try to buy foods in bulk with as little packaging as possible.

In my apartment where my roommates barely understand how to recycle, I often get discouraged and disillusioned into thinking that all of my fellow college classmates must be only eating processed foods with mounds of packaging. Visiting this house was refreshing and has encouraged me to continue to remind my roommates about recycling and encouraging them to eat things that are more natural and come in less packaging.