Joannas Speech

Joanna Syx, 11th Grader at EOSA delivered this speech at the East Oakland Earth Day Celebration on April 30, 2011. She received a standing ovation. 

      Have you ever been around the neighborhood and noticed how dirty it has gotten over the years? Have you thought what might have caused all these disasters that are occurring? Well i have! And everyday, I think about, what might my life be like in like, 10 years from now! What about my children? Well I feel it's time for a change this is our neighborhood! We need to keep it clean, we live here, this neighborhood represents us! We are the change! If we don't change what will become of us! We aren't keeping mother nature clean, so why do we expect the disasters to stop?
     Hello and welcome to our Earth day celebration. My name is Joanna and I'm with Green Pioneers, our purpose is to serve our community and to help people eat healthy, it might seem weird that a teen like me is stuck on this program right? Well it just so happens that I'm happy helping my community, I rather spend my time helping young teens stay healthy and safe rather then roaming these streets and getting locked up! I'm just one of hundreds that are here for a change.
    I for one would like to see the streets cleaner, and better food, by better i mean healthier wouldn't you? So why don't we do something to stop it? It's a perfect question everyone should think about!