Hi everybody, we have finally reached week 13. This post will mark the end of my blogging journey in ENV1101.

I think we can agree that consistently posting got quite tough, but the blogging assignment was actually really beneficial in how it pushed me to search up my own readings and conduct research in order to explore more about psychology and the environment, a field that I am still far from fully comprehending.

There is a reason why I named the blog series “Not an Environmental Enthusiast… yet” and not “Not an Environmentalist… yet”. Personally, I am not sure if I am comfortable with proclaiming myself as an environmentalist just yet. Although I hold nature in respect and wish to see the betterment of our environment, I must admit that I do not have the most environmentally friendly habits (although I am trying to change one at a time).

Through some discussion in prior posts, I have seen how others define being an environmentalist in very broad and inclusive terms, special mention to the definition in the film A Fierce Green Fire “if you drink water, and you like clean water, then that makes you an environmentalist”. Personally, I don’t see it that way and hence I feel guilty if I proclaim as an environmentalist and then act in a way that is selfish and harmful for the environment. Everybody has a different definition of what being an environmentalist means, so that may not apply for you!

I experience the psychological barrier of identifying as an environmentalist and the blog was a way of soul-searching, trying to find out more about why I feel a certain way towards the environment and what influences me to exhibit more pro-environmental behaviours. I wish to promote environmentalism to myself, and after figuring out how to influence myself, I wish to change others too. In a way, enrolling into the BES course was an intentional decision to “force” myself to be more of an environmentalist. Since surrounding myself with peers so motivated to protect our environment, I feel myself putting more effort to change my lifestyle. For example, I now place more emphasis on responsible energy and water usage, as well as taking recycling more seriously.

Hence, my conclusion.

I am an environmental enthusiast, but I still have ways to go before I am an environmentalist.

If you have come to read this final post, thank you for joining me for this blogging experience. I’m looking forward to studying alongside everybody and hope I can become a proper environmentalist by the end of BES! All the best for Finals everybody!!