Summer.

School is drawing to a close, and summer is drawing closer and closer.

Last summer, I had gone with Rustic Pathways, a summer program which gives students many volunteer services, to China, where I had taken care of pandas.

This summer, I'm planning on participating with their Sea Turtle Conservation Project in Costa Rica. I had enjoyed last year so much that I decided to volunteer with this program again. There, I will work my hardest to help save leatherback sea turtles from extinction. During the morning, I'll work on the beach, clearing away plants, logs, and other debris and design and construct a hatchery. I'll also build environmentally friendly containment units for the baby turtles. At night, I'll patrol the beach for turtle nests in an effort to preserve the turtles.

This time, I'll undertake more physically taxing challenges that will push myself to persevere. Although I know that I'm in for days of working long hours in the hot sun, moving debris off the beach, I'm still excited. Similarly, I'm showing perseverance and commitment to the protection of endangered species, first the pandas last summer, and the turtles this upcoming summer. The protection of the turtles is a matter of global importance, as they are an endangered species. My actions may (whether large or small) help the turtles, and I"ll do anything I can to help the turtles even in the littlest way. Finally, I will be working collaboratively with others (two others so far) in physical labor.

I'm looking forward to the summer!