Jessica Zou

Due to my thinking that driving is a stressful activity, I do not drive as often as my family only when absolutely necessary; however, I do see even more value in continuing my habits of not driving or even calling an uber when I could easily walk the distance or take public transportation. If it's less than three miles, walking or biking is a really great alternative because it cuts down on harmful pollution while also helping me incorporate exercise into my daily commute. I hope to stay in cities that have good walking routes and public transportation systems. If I ever do need to drive somewhere, I would definitely ask if carpooling with others is an option. 

In the last few years, I have switched to the paperless option and it has been less stressful contending with unwanted and pointless mail that contains information I could have learned from online or by logging into a website. It has created less clutter because we no longer need to find a place to store mail in case we think we might need it or find time to rip it pieces before trashing it. Growing up, my parents taught me to rip up mail so that people couldn't use this information but not having mail to actually rip up is less time consuming. The next step I'll be taking is buying paper from companies that are reusing old paper to make more paper instead of cutting down more trees. I also have tried to make more of an effort to use less paper in general if I don't need to. If I want to write on something, I can always use scrap paper. Being more aware of this makes me feel better about how I view trash; I see them as potential resources that I can incorporate into my daily life rather than spend more money on new products.