I was buying crazy expensive "detox" and "energy" bars for long days when healthy eating was going to be tough (think generic craft services on set that were reaaally unhealthy (loads of animal products, fats, processed garbage, pesticides, etc.)).  I started thinking about the waste caused by all the plastic-y wrappers on each bar I ate and feeling bad about it.  So, I started experimenting with creating my very own and I finally have a perfect recipe to share.  You can make these in 10 minutes and you can store them for basically forever in the freezer, pop 'em in a glass jar or re-useable glass Tupperware to take to school, work, on the plane/train/car, wherever.  They're quick, yummy, easy, and give a nice clean boost of energy.  Basically, just throw all the ingredients listed below into a bowl, rub your hands with some coconut oil and knead all the ingredients together like they're a bread or a pizza crust.  Shape the well-combined mixture into a rectangle on a baking sheet lightly greased with coconut oil and pop it in the freezer.  When you're ready to eat them, just cut them into squares or rectangles like typical granola bars or go all creative and make circles or stars or go totally uncreative and just lop off however much you want to eat at that given time!

It's best to freeze them at least a half hour before eating them but I've eaten them right away and, as long as the nut or seed butter base I used was thick and gooey, instead of watery, they're still deliciously perfect.

You will need:

1.  1 cup quick organic oats

2.  4 T maple syrup OR stevia to taste (you can sample the batter as you make this; I recommend tasting as you go so you can adjust these measurements to suit your own tastes)

3.  1/8 cup organic cacao powder (I recommend Bright Earth's 100% organic cacao powder)

4.  1 T powdered organic vanilla

5.  1 T ceylon cinnamon 

6.  1/8 t cardamom

7.  1/4 t pink Himalayan sea salt

8.  1 cup creamy (or crunchy!) almond butter, peanut butter (withOUT palm oil - make sure the sole ingredient is peanuts), cashew butter, or other nut or seed butter of your choice.  

9. 1 T spirulina powder

10.  1 t L-ascorbic Vitamin C powder *optional (immunity and binds to heavy metals to help eliminate them)

11.  1 t carao syrup (to boost iron levels and athletic endurance) *optional

12.  A little coconut oil to grease the pan and to put on your hands to prevent the mixture from sticking to them while you knead it.

Other Optional Add-In's:
Apricots, figs or other dried fruits you like (each has its own health benefits - apricot for iron, cranberries for urinary and digestive health, etc.), crushed chlorella tablets for extra detox, walnuts for additional Omega-3's, MSM organic sulfur (to boost skin and joint health), the contents of a probiotic capsule for additional gut health benefits, etc.  For even more protein, add a scoop of Garden of Earth unflavored, unsweetened, vegan protein powder.  You can really create the perfect clean on-the-go meal to suit exactly what you need.  

For ease, I've put links to some of the harder-to-find ingredients below, however, you should be able to get most of these easily from any good health food store.

Enjoy!

The headlines are screaming at us that the world is ending.  We have about 12 years to fix the planet or we’re all going to die!  By the time our grandkids are born the earth will be uninhabitable for humans!  Our fruits, veggies and grains aren’t safe because the earth is so polluted! Our meat isn’t safe because industrialized farming is packing it full of scary hormones and antibiotics!  Nothing from the ocean is safe because it’s all full of microplastics that cause cancer and infertility!  Even our air is so polluted, it’s going to kill us if we breathe it!  Don’t drink! Don’t eat!  Don’t breathe!  
 
At this point, most of us are tempted to just go to bed and pull the covers over our heads and eat some (probably-also-going-to-kill-us) chocolate.  Our planet’s problems seem so enormous and dire; they’re practically beyond our scope of comprehension and certainly out of our control, right? Well, hold up.  Not exactly.  It’s easy to do nothing because you can’t solve the whole thing, but if we each do a few small things, it can all add up to one big save.  With that in mind, I have some individualized one-person-saves-the-planet tips and tricks for you to incorporate into your daily life that are low-key, not dramatic and totally doable.
 
This isn’t about the politicized phrase “climate change” or about politics.  Because whatever you believe about rising sea levels (or not), I think (hope!) all of us can agree on two things:  (1) we would like to have clean water, clean air and clean soil so we can live happily and healthily – or, to put it another way, we don’t want anyone sticking us with filthy water, air or soil; and (2) if we wait for our politicians (of whatever party) to save us, well, we’re all gonna die.
 
Are we with each other on this one?  Clean planet for us and our progeny and screw the politicians?  

​I have 8 simple suggestions.  I originally wrote them all into one blog post, however, it was so long I thought it might be easier if I broke it down.  If you want to read the whole thing in one go, the long, detailed blog post is here.

If you prefer it broken into segments, just click on them in any order you choose for more details:
 
1.  Ditch the Plastic
This one is the hardest because we are surrounded by plastic!  It's in everything from our water bottles to our grocery bags.  Never fear, though, I have some easy tips to incorporate into your daily living that will not only help you reduce your plastic impact on the planet, but will improve your health and even add some green to your wallet!  Read on here!

2.  Recycle and Re-Use and (of course) Reduce
You hear this ALL the time, but, specifically, what does it really mean for each of us as an individual and, again, how we can we do these nice things to help clean up our earth, air and water while, at the same time, creating immediate benefits to ourselves.  What about furniture and fixtures and electronics and clothing and old sheets and towels?  I am so glad you asked.  Read on here!

3.  Eat Organic
Cutting back on your intake of chemical pesticides and herbicides can drastically improve your health and that of your earth, air and water.   Curious how and why?  Click here.

4.  Eat Plant-Based
A plant based diet will make you leaner, healthier and happier.  It also just happens to be awesome for the earth.  Want the 411 behind how and why?  Of course you do.  Check out how you can easily "health" up your eating without dieting and while still enjoying all your fav comfort foods here.  For those of you commercially producing animal meat and dairy, there are amazing organizations like my own beloved A2Px out there that will help you transition to often more lucrative plant-based farming to supply the burgeoning plant-based protein/meat/dairy industry instead.  Don't knock it til you try it.

5.  If You Drive, Drive Electric.  Regardless, Make Your Commute Eco Friendly
For some of us, driving is a necessity, however, we don't want to breath in all the nasty chemicals that the exhaust of the typical conventional car produces.  Car exhaust is super bad to breath in and diesel engine exhaust is a "Group 1" carcinogen (that means it most definitely causes cancer in humans - more on that here).  Let's try not to get cancer, shall we?  For more on making your commute clean, click here.

6.  Use Your Energy Thoughtfully
Most of us (me included) don't really think much about the planet when we pay our electric bill or run a load of laundry, however, a ton of tiny things we do in the way we use energy can improve our health, make the planet cleaner and even provide us with some financial benefits.  Read on here.

7.  Consume Thoughtfully
Even small choices in your shopping, like what brand of shoes you buy, can have significant impact on the planet.  I have some cheat sheets for you here (don't worry; they're not long or complicated).

8.  Garden (even in a city apartment)
My personal favorite:  easy ways to green your space to make your air cleaner, your mind more relaxed and possibly even give you some free fresh herbs, fruits, veggies, and/or flowers.  Even if, like me, you are the opposite of a green thumb and live in a small urban apartment, you can still enjoy some green!  Check it here.
​*****************************************************************************************************
Some people will argue that some of these changes are worth more or less than others.  Cool.  Put the emphasis wherever is easiest or makes most sense to you.  Customize this to you and don’t get overwhelmed because if we each do some small things, it all adds up to one gigantic thing.  Get out of bed, put down the chocolate and go save the world … because you actually can!
 
Footnotes & References
[1]See, e.g., https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/microplastics#health-effects,https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/22/health/microplastics-land-and-air-pollution-intl/index.html,http://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/feature/microplastics/,https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/microplastics-have-been-found-in-peoples-poop-mdash-what-does-it-mean/,https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-health-pollution-waste-microplastics/.  
[2]See, e.g., https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/19/are-we-poisoning-our-children-with-plastic
[3]See, e.g., https://food.ndtv.com/facts/storing-your-vegetables-in-plastic-bags-heres-why-you-need-to-stop-1729511
[4]See, e.g., https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-organic-food-cancer-20181022-story.html
[5]https://www.consumerreports.org/pesticides-herbicides/easy-way-to-remove-pesticides/
[6]See, e.g., https://www.parents.com/baby/diapers/cloth/eco-friendly-diapering/?slideId=slide_b68e1d04-72ec-455b-9acc-19a4600a3d3a#slide_b68e1d04-72ec-455b-9acc-19a4600a3d3a
[7]See, e.g., https://www.ewg.org/release/massive-study-finds-eating-organic-slashes-cancer-risks
[8]See, e.g., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3569688/,  https://www.ewg.org/release/massive-study-finds-eating-organic-slashes-cancer-risks,https://www.newsweek.com/eating-organic-foods-linked-lower-cancer-risk-1182713,https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/29/usda-diet-nutrition-environment-sustainability-omega-3-beef,
[9]https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150311-cow-agriculture-cattle-dairy-beef-health-food-ngbooktalk/
[10]Id.
[11]See also https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-plantbased-diets-weight-20150122-story.html
[12]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6132564/
[13]https://www.healwithfood.org/articles/buckwheat-complete-protein.php
[14]See, e.g., https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/list-amino-acids-grain-quinoa-1405.html
[15]https://www.cleancult.com/blog/substitutes-for-dryer-sheets/
[16]https://www.thespruce.com/vinegar-in-the-washing-machine-1900128

Garden (even in a city apartment)

This has so many benefits beyond just making our air cleaner and enriching our soil.  It’s also extremely calming and studies show we are happier when surrounded by greenery and plants.  “I hate being happy,” said nobody ever.  

For those, like me, who live in big cities and can’t run around planting trees or creating big gardens outside (we’d probably get arrested), there are awesome home kits.  

If you’re lucky enough to have a balcony, put out some tomato plants.  Not only are they neat-looking and fast-growing, you can eat the resulting tomatoes, which are rich in lycopene which improves your cardiovascular health and helps prevent cancer.  BOO YAH!  Here is a link to some tomato growing kits.  

You can also do window herb gardens or, and check THIS out (it’s on my Christmas list – please, Santa?  Please? Please?  Please?): a tabletop AEROGARDEN to grow your very own deliciously scented herbs, flowers, fruits, and/or veggies year-round:  https://www.aerogarden.com.  

For those in rural areas and/or lucky enough to have their own yards and access to land, plant away!  My favorite source for all things gardening is the Gardener’s Supply Company.  Regardless, always go organic however and wherever you plant.  Skip the pesticides, chemicals and say no to GMO seeds.  After all, you want to help yourself and the planet, not hurt both.  You don’t want to be exposed to toxic chemicals, even if you are growing non-edible flowers instead of veggies, fruits or herbs.    Gardeners.com has a lot of tips and tricks for how to avoid pests and problems without the use of nasty pesticides and, if you’re growing inside, it’s even easier.  You absolutely don’t need them.  
 
I decided to grow lavender inside (yes, it can be done!) and now everything smells serene and beautiful and I am happier for it.  And, I have the opposite of a green thumb.  I am wanted for plant murder in some states so, if I can do it, you can definitely do it.  And you will be happier, calmer and more zen if you do.  It’s like a gift for yourself that’s a gift to the world.
 
So go on! Green your space!  You’re going to be glad you did it.

Use Your Energy Thoughtfully

Home
Use an energy provider that uses clean energy, like Green Mountain. It’s super easy to enroll and you will be on the exact same energy grid you were on before.  I use it and my bills are actually quite a bit less now with no decrease in service.  They have no idea my blog exists and they definitely aren’t paying me to say that. Check it out here. 
 
If you’re lucky enough to have a house, you can install Tesla’s Powerwall and charge your home for free, courtesy of our friend the sun.

Laundry

Use a biodegradable, chemical-free, dye-free, fragrance-free detergent (I love Go by Greenshield Organic – link to it below the text in this post) and wash in cold water as much as you can. Try not to wash until you have a full load’s worth of clothes to save energy.  Simple stuff but it matters.  I use pureWash which uses oxygen to clean laundry so I can skip hot water and detergent.
 
Also, ditch the fabric softener and dryer sheets.[15]  You can substitute vinegar for fabric softener[16] and, for freshly scented clothes, just put a few drops of your favorite essential oil on a bit of fabric and throw it in the dryer with your clothes.  Gorgeous!

Old Clothes and Textiles (fancy term for fabrics like sheets and towels)

If your things are gently worn, donate them to Goodwill or another charity so someone else can benefit from them. If they’re ripped or stained, there are plenty of textile (fabric) donation spots.  The clothing retailer, H&M, accepts donations of used clothes and textiles at any of their stores AND they’ll even give you a discount coupon to say thanks!  
 
Click here for a terrific list of places that take old clothes and fabrics, even old undies.

Old Furniture, Appliances and Fixtures

Gently used?  Donate or sell!  I use Craig’s List to sell my old furniture all the time and it works like a charm.  
 
You can also donate!  Salvation Army, Goodwill and a host of others may be able to put your old furniture, electronics and fixtures to good use!  Here are two terrific resource guides (in some cases, you can get tax deductions for donations and free pick up’s of heavy items):

Houzz  
and
Moving.com
 
For mattresses, click here for info on how to recycle those.
 
For bigger ticket items, like bathtubs – say, if you’re doing a home renovation - just google places like Big Reuse (https://bigreuse.org, located in New York City), which can recycle and re-use this bigger items.
​
A lot of companies, such as Apple and Staples, will recycle your electronics, even giving you money for them if they’re recent enough and, even if they’re old, providing you with a free prepaid shipping label (for more on Apple's program, click here).  Most Staples and Bed, Bath & beyond stores have areas you can drop off old batteriesto be recycled, as well.
 
Many cities, such as New York, offer electronics recycling and you can just do a quick google search for electronics recycling in your city for the 411 there.    

If You Have Extra Disposable Income, You Can Literally Recycle EVERYTHING
This one I am putting last because, financially, it’s just not a real option for a lot of people.  If you makes heaps o’ money though and have some disposable income you’d be happy to allocate to saving our planet, you can pay to conveniently recycle pretty much anything at terracycle.com.  They send you shipping labels and boxes and you fill ‘em up with, again, just about anything and they swear they’ll recycle all of it. They do have some free recycling programs, but there are wait lists for most of them (I know; I’ve been on one of their waitlists for over a year).  The pay programs are fast and easy … however they do cost money.
 
Terracycle has free recycling programs for bigger entities like schools and companies, so, if you’re feeling ballsy, loudly advocate for your work and/or your kid’s (or your) school to get their recycling services.
 

Ditching plastic sounds easy but anyone who has tried it knows it’s not. If you think about it, we’re surrounded by plastic – plastic bags, straws, water bottles, plastic plates, cups, plastic wrap.  You get the gist.  This is because it’s cheap and easy.  Cheap and easy does not equal good when it is so super horrible for our environment.  Plastic breaks down into tiny pieces, not visible to the eye, commonly called “microplastics,” that pollute our water and soil.  What’s the problem?  Well, they may just be causing a whole host of ill effects from breast cancer to erectile dysfunction.[1]  Gross.  Again, who wants air, water and land contaminated with stuff that won’t degrade and can mutate and kills our cells?  Ummm.  I think nobody.  With that in mind, tips for individually saving the planet by reducing your individual plastic (and getting yourself a bit healthier and safer while you’re at it!):

Use Re-Useable Bags and Straws
We all have too many of those tote bags that seem to get given away for free at every event I have been at recently. Use them for all your shopping instead of getting plastic bags!  If you truly don’t have extra tote bags just lying around, ok, I guess, buy a cheap fabric one.  I love when store clerks start beaming when I tell them I brought my own bag.  One guy told me he was in love with me for bringing my own bag for my groceries (wow).  Who knew being eco-friendly would make perfect strangers fall in love with you?! Bonus.
 
We all saw the videos of sea turtles dying and bleeding with plastic straws caught in their noses and throats and, if you didn’t see them, don’t … unless you want to be really sad.  “I want to be really sad!” said pretty much no one, ever. In addition to being problematic for sea life, plastic straws are problematic for us because, again, they contribute to plastic pollution that is killing us off, or at least making it hard for the guys to procreate and giving the gals increased breast cancer risk.[2]  You don’t want to shoot blanks or die of breast cancer, right?  Just say no to straws or, if you must have them, get your own! Corkcicle has really cool stainless steel straws (only $5 for 2 at www.corkcicle.com).  No, they do not pay me to say that and I won't get anything if you buy a straw from them.

Grocery Shopping Tips
Again, bring your own cloth (not plastic) bags.  It does require some pre-thought but you’re smart and you can do it.  It just takes making it a routine to get into doing it consistently.  Some stores, like Ralph’s, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Target, and more will actually PAY YOU when you bring your own bag in the form of discounts or other benefits.  See more details on that here.  YES!  Money in your pocket for saving the planet!  You're such a (well compensated) super hero!  
 
Bring cloth napkins or dishtowels, as well, to wrap veggies in, instead of using those plastic bags in the produce section. This is actually healthier for you and better for your produce since plastic bags increase bad humidity, lower aeration and speed up spoilage.[3]
 
A tip:  keep those re-useable bags and cloths clean.  Just remember to throw them in the washing machine when you do your regular laundry.  Easy breezy.

Food Storage
Once your veggies are at home, keep them wrapped gently in the cloth napkins or dish towels and don’t wash them until you’re ready to use them (to make them stay fresher longer).  Always buy organic (better for you because it won’t give you cancer from the toxic pesticides and herbicides used for conventionally grown produce.  [4]. Growing organic helps increase our soil, air and water quality and it's obviously way healthier for you.  However, because I know sometimes organic is impossible, price-wise, a way you can at least reduce pesticides on the exterior of fruits and veggies when you just don’t have enough $$ to buy organic is to soak them in a mixture of salt, hot water and baking powder.[5]  For mushrooms, just dunk them in the mixture and rinse them quickly because mushrooms absorb everything really fast and it won’t be yummy to eat salty, baking powder-y mushrooms.
 
I also really like re-useable glass “Tupperware” instead of plastic and glass bottles for carrying around my beverages instead of plastic bottles (better for my own health; better for the planet).  Links to some examples of good glassware you can order are below the text of this post.

Diapers & Bottles
Hey Moms and Dads!  According to the Clean Air Council, Americans throw away 49 million diapers per day, accounting for two + percent of all garbage generated in the U.S., making diapers are one of the largest contributors to landfills.[6]  Don’t fret! It’s possible to reduce this landfill conundrum.  
 
You actually have a number of options.  My personal favorite are these brightly colored re-useable cloth diapers from Target for the baby with the heightened sartorial sense (click here). There are multiple other options though, from the re-useable cloth diapers to the admittedly not-as-good-but-still-something disposable diapers that are at least biodegradable (see a list of them here) to, if you have that oh-so-nice extra disposable income, services that will do it all for you, like this one I just randomly googled but have never used (just google eco friendly diaper services in your geographic region and then read the BBB, etc., reviews of the business to make sure it is legit before using).
 
On bottles, again, this is more about the health of your baby than just ditching plastic, but every time you heat that plastic bottle up, the plastic is degrading and your kiddo is swallowing some and it’s not a good thing. Go glass.  LifeFactory has terrific glass baby bottles in thick, cushiony sleeves (a little plastic for the cushion; well, nobody’s perfect) to prevent breakage if excited baby tosses them or tired parent drops them.  You can google them, buy them in baby supply stores or, if all else fails, use my easy link to order them online, below the text of this blog post.

Doggie Doo Bags & Wee Pads
Don’t pick up after your dog – JUST KIDDING!!!! Ok, for dogs, we have two issues:  (1) wee pads and (2) poo bags.
 
Wee Pads
Ideally, your dog will only relieve herself or himself outside but, if you have a puppy you’re training, an older dog who has incontinence issues or just a dog you want to have an emergency option just-in-case for, re-useable, washable pads are there for you!
 
I use PoochPads for my dog and they are AWESOME.  Really. I highly recommend.  They’re not bad looking and they’re super absorbent and easy to spot clean (or just throw them in the washing machine – please, if your dog does a doo instead of a pee, scoop it up with toilet paper and flush it. Do not put THAT in your washing machine).  You can find lots of other brands of re-useable wee pads, too.  Just ask for recommendations at your local pet supply store.
 
Doggie Doo Bags
There ARE eco-friendly biodegradable bags but be CAREFUL because a lot of the advertising on poo bags are very misleading and the bag you think is all earth friendly, well, isn’t.  Rover has a great article on this here that every dog parent should read. This also lists the “good” bags (like Biobag, Flush Puppies and BioDOGradable, which I have links to below the text of this blog post if you can’t find them at your local pet supply store).  
 
For those of you who are just superstars, this is a quote from the above-referenced Rover article:

• Use a dog-waste-only composting bin. There are several commercial options like the Doggie Doolie on the market, but you can also make your own with supplies available at your local home and garden store. While pet waste compost should never be used on edible plants, it can be great fertilizer for decorative gardens!
• Flush it. Yes, depending on where you live, you can flush dog poop in water-soluble waste bags. Just be sure to check with your municipal sewage guidelines, and never flush pet waste into a septic tank.
• Bury it. This option works best if you live in a rural area with space away from the house. Waste should be buried at least five inches underground, away from vegetable gardens and water sources.
• Transport it to an industrial composting facility that accepts pet waste, or hire a waste removal company that does the dirty work for you (for example: Portland’s Green Pet Compost Company).

-Source: https://www.rover.com/blog/truth-about-biodegradable-poop-bags-in/

No Bottled Water
At least not plastic bottles.  For a whole blog post on why plastic bottled water is truly awful for you and what water is awesome for you, click here:  http://jenniferbetityen.weebly.com/ethical-is-beautiful-be-beautiful-a-blog/whats-in-the-water

Trash Bags
Try not to use them.  Chances are, you have a stash of plastic bags somewhere in your home from past shopping trips (before you read this blog, of course, right?).  Re-use those as trash bags when you simply must.  Or use biodegradable, earth-friendly bags (links to some examples below the text of this blog post).
 
COMPOST and RECYCLE!  Even in large cities, there are compost stations. Likewise, even in rural areas, there are recycling stations.  Just ask your city government offices or google it by city.  A quick and dirty guide (no pun intended) was created by another blogger on this topic here. 

​The headlines are screaming at us that the world is ending.  We have about 12 years to fix the planet or we’re all going to die!  By the time our grandkids are born the earth will be uninhabitable for humans!  Our fruits, veggies and grains aren’t safe because the earth is so polluted! Our meat isn’t safe because industrialized farming is packing it full of scary hormones and antibiotics!  Nothing from the ocean is safe because it’s all full of microplastics that cause cancer and infertility!  Even our air is so polluted, it’s going to kill us if we breathe it!  Don’t drink! Don’t eat!  Don’t breathe!  
 
At this point, most of us are tempted to just go to bed and pull the covers over our heads and eat some (probably-also-going-to-kill-us) chocolate.  Our planet’s problems seem so enormous and dire; they’re practically beyond our scope of comprehension and certainly out of our control, right? Well, hold up.  Not exactly.  It’s easy to do nothing because you can’t solve the whole thing, but if we each do a few small things, it can all add up to one big save.  With that in mind, I have some individualized one-person-saves-the-planet tips and tricks for you to incorporate into your daily life that are low-key, not dramatic and totally doable.
 
This isn’t about the politicized phrase “climate change” or about politics.  Because whatever you believe about rising sea levels (or not), I think (hope!) all of us can agree on two things:  (1) we would like to have clean water, clean air and clean soil so we can live happily and healthily – or, to put it another way, we don’t want anyone sticking us with filthy water, air or soil; and (2) if we wait for our politicians (of whatever party) to save us, well, we’re all gonna die.
 
Are we with each other on this one?  Clean planet for us and our progeny and screw the politicians?  If so, please read on for 8 simple tips.  
 
1.  Ditch the Plastic
I’m probably starting with the toughest to do and ending with the easiest so feel free to read in reverse order if you prefer.  Ditching plastic sounds easy but anyone who has tried it knows it’s not. If you think about it, we’re surrounded by plastic – plastic bags, straws, water bottles, plastic plates, cups, plastic wrap.  You get the gist.  This is because it’s cheap and easy.  Cheap and easy does not equal good when it is so super horrible for our environment.  Plastic breaks down into tiny pieces, not visible to the eye, commonly called “microplastics,” that pollute our water and soil.  What’s the problem?  Well, they may just be causing a whole host of ill effects from breast cancer to erectile dysfunction.[1]  Gross.  Again, who wants air, water and land contaminated with stuff that won’t degrade and can mutate and kills our cells?  Ummm.  I think nobody.  With that in mind, tips for individually saving the planet by reducing your individual plastic (and getting yourself a bit healthier and safer while you’re at it!):

Use Re-Useable Cloth Bags and Straws
We all have too many of those tote bags that seem to get given away for free at every event I have been at recently. Use them for all your shopping instead of getting plastic bags!  If you truly don’t have extra tote bags just lying around, ok, I guess, buy a cheap fabric one.  I love when store clerks start beaming when I tell them I brought my own bag.  One guy told me he was in love with me for bringing my own bag for my groceries (wow).  Who knew being eco-friendly would make perfect strangers fall in love with you?! Bonus.
 
We all saw the videos of sea turtles dying and bleeding with plastic straws caught in their noses and throats and, if you didn’t see them, don’t … unless you want to be really sad.  “I want to be really sad!” said pretty much no one, ever. In addition to being problematic for sea life, plastic straws are problematic for us because, again, they contribute to plastic pollution that is killing us off, or at least making it hard for the guys to procreate and giving the gals increased breast cancer risk.[2]  You don’t want to shoot blanks or die of breast cancer, right?  Just say no to straws or, if you must have them, get your own! Corkcicle has really cool stainless steel straws (only $5 for 2 at www.corkcicle.com).  No, they do not pay me to say that and I won't get anything if you buy a straw from them.

Grocery Shopping Tips
Again, bring your own cloth (not plastic) bags.  It does require some pre-thought but you’re smart and you can do it.  It just takes making it a routine to get into doing it consistently.  Some stores, like Ralph’s, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Target, and more will actually PAY YOU when you bring your own bag in the form of discounts or other benefits.  See more details on thathere.  YES!  Money in your pocket for saving the planet!  You're such a (well compensated) super hero!  
 
Bring cloth napkins or dishtowels, as well, to wrap veggies in, instead of using those plastic bags in the produce section. This is actually healthier for you and better for your produce since plastic bags increase bad humidity, lower aeration and speed up spoilage.[3]
 
A tip:  keep those re-useable bags and cloths clean.  Just remember to throw them in the washing machine when you do your regular laundry.  Easy breezy.

Food Storage
Once your veggies are at home, keep them wrapped gently in the cloth napkins or dish towels and don’t wash them until you’re ready to use them (to make them stay fresher longer).  Always buy organic (better for you because it won’t give you cancer from the toxic pesticides and herbicides used for conventionally grown produce.  [4]. Growing organic helps increase our soil, air and water quality and it's obviously way healthier for you.  However, because I know sometimes organic is impossible, price-wise, a way you can at least reduce pesticides on the exterior of fruits and veggies when you just don’t have enough $$ to buy organic is to soak them in a mixture of salt, hot water and baking powder.[5]  For mushrooms, just dunk them in the mixture and rinse them quickly because mushrooms absorb everything really fast and it won’t be yummy to eat salty, baking powder-y mushrooms.
 
I also really like re-useable glass “Tupperware” instead of plastic and glass bottles for carrying around my beverages instead of plastic bottles (better for my own health; better for the planet).  Links to some examples of good glassware you can order are below the text of this post.

Diapers & Bottles
Hey Moms and Dads!  According to the Clean Air Council, Americans throw away 49 million diapers per day, accounting for two + percent of all garbage generated in the U.S., making diapers are one of the largest contributors to landfills.[6]  Don’t fret! It’s possible to reduce this landfill conundrum.  
 
You actually have a number of options.  My personal favorite are these brightly colored re-useable cloth diapers from Target for the baby with the heightened sartorial sense (click here). There are multiple other options though, from the re-useable cloth diapers to the admittedly not-as-good-but-still-something disposable diapers that are at least biodegradable (see a list of them here) to, if you have that oh-so-nice extra disposable income, services that will do it all for you, like this one I just randomly googled but have never used (just google eco friendly diaper services in your geographic region and then read the BBB, etc., reviews of the business to make sure it is legit before using).
 
On bottles, again, this is more about the health of your baby than just ditching plastic, but every time you heat that plastic bottle up, the plastic is degrading and your kiddo is swallowing some and it’s not a good thing. Go glass.  LifeFactory has terrific glass baby bottles in thick, cushiony sleeves (a little plastic for the cushion; well, nobody’s perfect) to prevent breakage if excited baby tosses them or tired parent drops them.  You can google them, buy them in baby supply stores or, if all else fails, use my easy link to order them online, below the text of this blog post.

Doggie Doo Bags & Wee Pads
Don’t pick up after your dog – JUST KIDDING!!!! Ok, for dogs, we have two issues:  (1) wee pads and (2) poo bags.
 
Wee Pads
Ideally, your dog will only relieve herself or himself outside but, if you have a puppy you’re training, an older dog who has incontinence issues or just a dog you want to have an emergency option just-in-case for, re-useable, washable pads are there for you!
 
I use PoochPads for my dog and they are AWESOME.  Really. I highly recommend.  They’re not bad looking and they’re super absorbent and easy to spot clean (or just throw them in the washing machine – please, if your dog does a doo instead of a pee, scoop it up with toilet paper and flush it. Do not put THAT in your washing machine).  You can find lots of other brands of re-useable wee pads, too.  Just ask for recommendations at your local pet supply store.
 
Doggie Doo Bags
There ARE eco-friendly biodegradable bags but be CAREFUL because a lot of the advertising on poo bags are very misleading and the bag you think is all earth friendly, well, isn’t.  Rover has a great article on this here that every dog parent should read. This also lists the “good” bags (like Biobag, Flush Puppies and BioDOGradable, which I have links to below the text of this blog post if you can’t find them at your local pet supply store).  
 
For those of you who are just superstars, this is a quote from the above-referenced Rover article:

• Use a dog-waste-only composting bin. There are several commercial options like the Doggie Doolie on the market, but you can also make your own with supplies available at your local home and garden store. While pet waste compost should never be used on edible plants, it can be great fertilizer for decorative gardens!
• Flush it. Yes, depending on where you live, you can flush dog poop in water-soluble waste bags. Just be sure to check with your municipal sewage guidelines, and never flush pet waste into a septic tank.
• Bury it. This option works best if you live in a rural area with space away from the house. Waste should be buried at least five inches underground, away from vegetable gardens and water sources.
• Transport it to an industrial composting facility that accepts pet waste, or hire a waste removal company that does the dirty work for you (for example: Portland’s Green Pet Compost Company).

-Source: https://www.rover.com/blog/truth-about-biodegradable-poop-bags-in/

No Bottled Water
At least not plastic bottles.  For a whole blog post on why plastic bottled water is truly awful for you and what water is awesome for you, click here:  http://jenniferbetityen.weebly.com/ethical-is-beautiful-be-beautiful-a-blog/whats-in-the-water

Trash Bags
Try not to use them.  Chances are, you have a stash of plastic bags somewhere in your home from past shopping trips (before you read this blog, of course, right?).  Re-use those as trash bags when you simply must.  Or use biodegradable, earth-friendly bags (links to some examples below the text of this blog post).
 
COMPOST and RECYCLE!  Even in large cities, there are compost stations. Likewise, even in rural areas, there are recycling stations.  Just ask your city government offices or google it by city.  A quick and dirty guide (no pun intended) was created by another blogger on this topic here. 
 
2.  Recycle and Re-Use and (of course) Reduce

Old Clothes and Textiles (fancy term for fabrics like sheets and towels)
If your things are gently worn, donate them to Goodwill or another charity so someone else can benefit from them. If they’re ripped or stained, there are plenty of textile (fabric) donation spots.  The clothing retailer, H&M, accepts donations of used clothes and textiles at any of their stores AND they’ll even give you a discount coupon to say thanks!  
 
Click here for a terrific list of places that take old clothes and fabrics, even old undies.

Old Furniture, Appliances and Fixtures
Gently used?  Donate or sell!  I use Craig’s List to sell my old furniture all the time and it works like a charm.  
 
You can also donate!  Salvation Army, Goodwill and a host of others may be able to put your old furniture, electronics and fixtures to good use!  Here are two terrific resource guides (in some cases, you can get tax deductions for donations and free pick up’s of heavy items):

Houzz  
and
Moving.com
 
For mattresses, click here for info on how to recycle those.
 
For bigger ticket items, like bathtubs – say, if you’re doing a home renovation - just google places like Big Reuse (https://bigreuse.org, located in New York City), which can recycle and re-use this bigger items.
A lot of companies, such as Apple and Staples, will recycle your electronics, even giving you money for them if they’re recent enough and, even if they’re old, providing you with a free prepaid shipping label (for more on Apple's program, click here).  Most Staples and Bed, Bath & beyond stores have areas you can drop off old batteriesto be recycled, as well.
 
Many cities, such as New York, offer electronics recycling and you can just do a quick google search for electronics recycling in your city for the 411 there.    

If You Have Extra Disposable Income, You Can Literally Recycle EVERYTHING
This one I am putting last because, financially, it’s just not a real option for a lot of people.  If you makes heaps o’ money though and have some disposable income you’d be happy to allocate to saving our planet, you can pay to conveniently recycle pretty much anything at terracycle.com.  They send you shipping labels and boxes and you fill ‘em up with, again, just about anything and they swear they’ll recycle all of it. They do have some free recycling programs, but there are wait lists for most of them (I know; I’ve been on one of their waitlists for over a year).  The pay programs are fast and easy … however they do cost money.
 
Terracycle has free recycling programs for bigger entities like schools and companies, so, if you’re feeling ballsy, loudly advocate for your work and/or your kid’s (or your) school to get their recycling services.
 
3.  Eat Organic
Filling your body with weird chemicals is just generally unhealthy. You don’t have to be a doctor or rocket scientist to figure that out.  Unfortunately, toxic pesticides linked to cancer, such as weed killer glyphosate and organophosphate pesticides malathion and diazinon, among others, are used on conventionally grown food crops.[7]  Not only do these chemicals badly contaminate the soil and water, they can get into the plant’s root structure and, once that happens, there’s no washing them away. They’re going in your body if you eat the food.  
 
If I gave you a bottle of weed killer or bottle of insecticide and told you to drink it, you’d tell me to go to someplace not very nice, wouldn’t you?  So, why are you eating food awash in that gunk?  Stop.  I want you to live a healthy life.  You want to live a healthy life.  Go organic.
 
Also, for those looking to whittle their waistlines: guess what?  Toxins like those mentioned above are stored in your fat tissues and, if you consume too much, guess what your body does?  Makes MORE FAT to store those toxins.  Yup.  Makes more fat just as a little gift to you along with that increased risk o’ cancer! That’s according to an NIH study, among other sources.  Not “Fake News”!  Unless you feel like getting sick and fat, the best thing to do is go organic.  According to the British Journal of Nutrition, organic produce has 70% more antioxidants (yay!  Anti-aging!) than conventionally grown produce and study after study after study shows eating organic can slash your risk of a whole host of health problems, such as cancer.[8]
 
The downside is organic can be more expensive. Many of us joke “Whole Foods Whole Paycheck.”  That being said, a great way to get less expensive organic produce is by using local farmer’s markets.  It’s also a great way to support local, organic fruit, vegetable and grain farmers who are improving our planet through responsible organic farming.  Just good “organic farmer’s markets in [insert name of your city]” and you should get a whole host of results.
 
Cut Back On Or Eliminate Meat, Dairy & Seafood (don’t freak out; I’ll explain why and give you lots of good substitutes)
Industrialized slaughter of cows and pigs and other animals, as well as the dairy industry, causes all kinds of pollution; more, in fact, than every single car’s emissions in the country.[9]   If you're the owner of or worker in one of those slaughterhouses or dairy farms, don't get mad at me.  Join me in producing supply to meet the demand of the biggest up-and-comer around:  plant protein.  You can stay in the "meat" and "dairy" industry; but switch to plant-based farming which will allow you to actually enrich the soil through the organic farming of crops desperately needed to fill a gigantically growing demand from the plant-based milk and "meat" markets (sunflower seeds, peas, quinoa, buckwheat, the list goes on and on).  Indeed, the vegan (plant-based) snack market is set to be worth $73 billion by 2028 (read more here) and more and more consumers are becoming educated on the significant health benefits of plant-based eating.  Companies like my beloved A2Px exist specifically to help animal farmers transition to more lucrative plant-based farmers to create vibrant and much-needed new plant supply chains; breaking antiquated old chains that harm our farmers, planet and overall health.  Message them to learn more at https://www.facebook.com/A2Px1/.
 
Further, the meat product of industrialized slaughter is not good for us despite what too many of our politicians and lobbyists might say (as they line their pockets with cash from special interest groups – ahem).  As National Geographic put it:  "industrial feedlots where castle stand knee-deep in their own feces, pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones for them; clogged arteries, obesity and heart attacks for us."  See National Geographic (emphasis added).  In other words, being carnivorous in our crazy world is polluting the planet and making us fat and sick.
 
Only 1 in 10 Americans eats the recommended amount of produce and, if we increase our fruit and veggie consumption and go to a primarily plant-based diet, we could prevent 20,000+ cases of cancer EVERY YEAR!  While we’re at it, we will also lower our risk of high blood pressure, stroke and cardiovascular disease.  
 
On the fat thing, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine found that people on plant-based diets lost around 10 lbs/month when they first began going plant-based, regardless of calorie counting or exercise.[11]  Obviously, your weight will stabilize at some point.  This is a study of overweight people trying to lose weight.
 
Seafood doesn’t save you because remember the microplastics issue we discussed above?  Fish, lobster, shrimp, etc., are full of them! According to a terrifying NIH study that I read so you don’t have to, we are looking at some serious microplastic contamination with all the associated health risks.[12]
 
Around this point, a lot of people start screaming, BUT PROTEIN!!  First of all, ALL plant-based foods contain some protein.  Animal flesh is not the exclusive protein holder of the world.  The difference is some plants do not have “complete proteins” – in other words, all 9 amino acids.  Note: buckwheat[13] and quinoa[14] have all 9 amino acids and are thus complete proteins on their own.  Take that, hamburger!  But even for the rest of our plant protein friends, you just have to “stack” them (in other words, eat two different types together – like rice and beans, for example) to get your complete protein.  There. That wasn’t so hard.
 
Now, I know.  So-called comfort food is full o’ animal flesh and dairy. But what if you could have your cake and eat it too?  You can! There are amazing veggie burgers, vegan milks, plant-based seafood, ice-cream, basically anything your heart desires.  It just takes a little gumption and a commitment to your and your family’s health and well-being (oh, yeah, and the planet).  
 
I blogged extensively on this here:
 
General Overview of Excellent Brands Supplying Plant-Based Comfort Foods - http://jenniferbetityen.weebly.com/ethical-is-beautiful-be-beautiful-a-blog/the-best-nom-noms-for-health-home-heart
 
Plant-Based Dairy - http://jenniferbetityen.weebly.com/ethical-is-beautiful-be-beautiful-a-blog/for-the-love-of-cheese
 
Plant-Based Meats - http://jenniferbetityen.weebly.com/ethical-is-beautiful-be-beautiful-a-blog/ethical-meat-lovers-meat-guide
 
Plant-Based Seafood – some good options here are Sophie’s Kitchen (I love their seafood jambalaya) and Good Catch.  Just check in with your local health food store or order from the companies’ websites.
 
If this seems overwhelming, check out my recipes on this blog and, if you need someone else to jump start you, try a food delivery service temporarily just to get ideas and the hang of it, such as Sakara (https://www.sakara.com) or Purple Carrot (https://www.purplecarrot.com).  

A well-reviewed (but not free) app that helps you find healthy plant-based restaurant options near you, virtually anywhere in the world is "Happy Cow":  www.happycow.net/mobile
 
Basically, eating plant-based is good for you and it’s good for the planet.  According to the Guardian:
 
Appealing to the various drivers of people’s diet choices could help address not only the nation’s obesity problem, but also the environmental impacts of food production, even the stability of the food supply chain. For example, decreased consumption of meat could have a major impact on water usage. According to Arlin Wasserman, founder of food consultancy Changing Tastes, Americans currently get about 15% of their protein from plant-based sources. Shifting that to 25% could result in enough water savings to provide two-thirds of California’s water supply.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/29/usda-diet-nutrition-environment-sustainability-omega-3-beef 

So go eat your plants, vegetables and grains and be happy, healthy and free!
 
5.  If You Drive, Drive Electric.  Regardless, Make Your Commute Eco Friendly
Electric cars are awesome.  I know. I drive a Tesla.  https://www.tesla.com  My costs in NYC come to roughly $8-10 per 300+ miles for charging my vehicle and they even have a converter with which, were I ever in a pinch, I could just plug MY CAR into a regular old outlet.  Heck, yeah!  If you’re lucky enough to have a house, you can install Tesla’s solar panel (see  “Solar and Powerwall” on their website link above) and charge both your home and car for free, courtesy of our friend the sun.
 
There are a gajillion electric and hybrid car choices.  Many states offer you tax incentives and other $$ help if you go green, so ask the car dealership for information on this when you go car shopping. There’s also an awesome free app called Plug Share that will locate chargers nearby for you.  Why be a dinosaur?  Join me in the future with fast, gas-free cars that are safe, environmentally friendly and, best of all, so freakin’ fun to drive.  If you live near a Tesla dealership, go and test drive a car even if you’re not in the market to buy.  If you like to drive and you like fast cars, you are going to have fun.
 
Regardless of awesome cars, consider walking or biking whenever you can because it’s good exercise as well as good for the planet.  Use ride shares and/or public transit to cut down on air pollution.  In other words, just be sensible.
 
6.  Use Your Energy Thoughtfully

Home
Use an energy provider that uses clean energy, like Green Mountain. It’s super easy to enroll and you will be on the exact same energy grid you were on before.  I use it and my bills are actually quite a bit less now with no decrease in service.  They have no idea my blog exists and they definitely aren’t paying me to say that. Check it out here. 
 
As I mentioned above, if you’re lucky enough to have a house, you can install Tesla’s Powerwall and charge your home for free, courtesy of our friend the sun.

Laundry

Use a biodegradable, chemical-free, dye-free, fragrance-free detergent (I love Go by Greenshield Organic – link to it below the text in this post) and wash in cold water as much as you can. Try not to wash until you have a full load’s worth of clothes to save energy.  Simple stuff but it matters.  I use pureWash which uses oxygen to clean laundry so I can skip hot water and detergent.
 
Also, ditch the fabric softener and dryer sheets.[15]  You can substitute vinegar for fabric softener[16] and, for freshly scented clothes, just put a few drops of your favorite essential oil on a bit of fabric and throw it in the dryer with your clothes.  Gorgeous!
 
7.  Consume Thoughtfully
Do a little research before you buy.  Whether it’s shoes, clothes, jewelry, or cars, a little research to make sure what you’re buying is responsibly sourced goes a long way.  C’mon.  You can do it for the planet (and yourself).
 
For anything made of fabric, I recommend making sure it is Oeko-Tex certified. For more on that and to search all products, click here.
 
To save you time, here are some links to helpful outside sites:
 
Furniture - https://ecocult.com/ultimate-guide-eco-friendly-ethical-furniture/
 
Clothing and Shoes - https://www.peta.org/living/personal-care-fashion/vegan-eco-clothing-belongs-in-your-closet/
 
Jewelry - https://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/sustainable-fashion/looking-ethical-eco-friendly-jewelry/
 
In general, it’s sort of the same rules as for foods – the items that are the best for your health and that of our planet’s tend to be free of animal products, chemicals and toxins.  Kind of a no-brainer.
 
8.  Garden (even in a city apartment)
This is my favorite because it has so many benefits beyond just making our air cleaner and enriching our soil.  It’s also extremely calming and studies show we are happier when surrounded by greenery and plants.  “I hate being happy,” said nobody ever.  

For those, like me, who live in big cities and can’t run around planting trees or creating big gardens outside (we’d probably get arrested), there are awesome home kits.  

If you’re lucky enough to have a balcony, put out some tomato plants.  Not only are they neat-looking and fast-growing, you can eat the resulting tomatoes, which are rich in lycopene which improves your cardiovascular health and helps prevent cancer.  BOO YAH!  Here is a link to some tomato growing kits.  

You can also do window herb gardens or, and check THIS out (it’s on my Christmas list – please, Santa?  Please? Please?  Please?): a tabletop AEROGARDEN to grow your very own deliciously scented herbs, flowers, fruits, and/or veggies year-round:  https://www.aerogarden.com.  

For those in rural areas and/or lucky enough to have their own yards and access to land, plant away!  My favorite source for all things gardening is the Gardener’s Supply Company.  Regardless, always go organic however and wherever you plant.  Skip the pesticides, chemicals and say no to GMO seeds.  After all, you want to help yourself and the planet, not hurt both.  You don’t want to be exposed to toxic chemicals, even if you are growing non-edible flowers instead of veggies, fruits or herbs.    Gardeners.com has a lot of tips and tricks for how to avoid pests and problems without the use of nasty pesticides and, if you’re growing inside, it’s even easier.  You absolutely don’t need them.  
 
I decided to grow lavender inside (yes, it can be done!) and now everything smells serene and beautiful and I am happier for it.  And, I have the opposite of a green thumb.  I am wanted for plant murder in some states so, if I can do it, you can definitely do it.  And you will be happier, calmer and more zen if you do.  It’s like a gift for yourself that’s a gift to the world.
 
So go on! Green your space!  You’re going to be glad you did.

​*****************************************************************************************************
 
Some people will argue that some of these changes are worth more or less than others.  Cool.  Put the emphasis wherever is easiest or makes most sense to you.  Customize this to you and don’t get overwhelmed because if we each do some small things, it all adds up to one gigantic thing.  Get out of bed, put down the chocolate and go save the world … because you actually can!
 
Footnotes
[1]See, e.g., https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/microplastics#health-effects,https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/22/health/microplastics-land-and-air-pollution-intl/index.html,http://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/feature/microplastics/,https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/microplastics-have-been-found-in-peoples-poop-mdash-what-does-it-mean/,https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-health-pollution-waste-microplastics/.  
[2]See, e.g., https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/19/are-we-poisoning-our-children-with-plastic
[3]See, e.g., https://food.ndtv.com/facts/storing-your-vegetables-in-plastic-bags-heres-why-you-need-to-stop-1729511
[4]See, e.g., https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-organic-food-cancer-20181022-story.html
[5]https://www.consumerreports.org/pesticides-herbicides/easy-way-to-remove-pesticides/
[6]See, e.g., https://www.parents.com/baby/diapers/cloth/eco-friendly-diapering/?slideId=slide_b68e1d04-72ec-455b-9acc-19a4600a3d3a#slide_b68e1d04-72ec-455b-9acc-19a4600a3d3a
[7]See, e.g., https://www.ewg.org/release/massive-study-finds-eating-organic-slashes-cancer-risks
[8]See, e.g., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3569688/,  https://www.ewg.org/release/massive-study-finds-eating-organic-slashes-cancer-risks,https://www.newsweek.com/eating-organic-foods-linked-lower-cancer-risk-1182713,https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/29/usda-diet-nutrition-environment-sustainability-omega-3-beef,
[9]https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150311-cow-agriculture-cattle-dairy-beef-health-food-ngbooktalk/
[10]Id.
[11]See also https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-plantbased-diets-weight-20150122-story.html
[12]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6132564/
[13]https://www.healwithfood.org/articles/buckwheat-complete-protein.php
[14]See, e.g., https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/list-amino-acids-grain-quinoa-1405.html
[15]https://www.cleancult.com/blog/substitutes-for-dryer-sheets/
[16]https://www.thespruce.com/vinegar-in-the-washing-machine-1900128

Many people have read about the controversial maternal deprivation research on baby monkeys at the University of Wisconsin, among others.  One need only google psychiatric experiments on baby monkeys to see the stuff of nightmares.  For me, the grave difficulty with psychiatric experimentation on non-human animals is that, for the experiments to have any real value for treatment, you must begin from the foundation that the non-human animals are psychiatrically identical or at least substantially similar in their emotions and cognitive functioning to humans. That is, that the non-human animals are sentient; that they have an identical or substantially similar emotional spectrum; that they feel the same emotions such as fear, pain, joy, loss, and so on, as humans do.  If they do not, after all, of what utility is the psychiatric and behavioral research performed on them to humans?  Little at best and, I argue, none.  However, beginning, as one must if one is to argue in favor of these experiments’ utility, from the supposition that the non-human animals feel in the same or substantially similar way as humans do, the ethical and moral implications of treating them as one would not or should not ever treat a human in these types of emotionally and often physically violent experiments are insurmountable.

It is my privilege to be able to use this blog as a vehicle to share a series of stories from across the country about the American immigrant experience.  More on this project here.  The ninth story is:

Us_me vs. Them_ME by Widelyne Laporte
 
            I was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which is commonly known as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Which was wrongly stated by a powerful leader in America, as one of the “shit hole” countries. Before I was born, my father moved to America, leaving behind my mother and 5 older siblings, to build a better life for his family. He worked hard as a building super to live in a building for rent-free, in exchange for his services. My father knew little to no English, yet he somehow made it work, and I greatly acknowledge his hard work and perseverance. When I was 3 years old, my father was able to file for us to come to America. When we came, we lived in the basement of the building which my father worked at, for over 8 years. I remember this building being infested with rats, mice and flying roaches. We started off sleeping on the floor to my father saving enough to buy one bunk bed, which was shared amongst my sister and I.  We made the best of our living lifestyle.
​

            Despite of our living conditions and being an immigrant, I was not embarrassed at a young age. However, as I got into elementary and junior high school, students often made cruel statements about immigrants. About me.  At that time, there was a rumor spread that Haitians were bringing HIV/AIDS to America. Often times I would be told to go back home and called names because of what I wore and what my parents could not afford. I did not ever feel like I was an estranged person, an outsider, or loner until I started school. But, my lack of embarrassment of being an immigrant had a lot to do with my parents. My parents always spoke Hope and Faith in our God. Always said, “this was TEMPORARY. Everyday is a stepping stone.”


            My father is now the owner of a house, my older siblings married with kids, in their own homes with promising careers. And as for me, I am working as a nurse, giving back to my parents for their hard work and sacrifices. I am also giving back to the country that has given me the opportunity that I might not have had in my country, Haiti.  I am a hard-working individual and also helping American citizens in a country which I was not born into. Being in the healthcare industry, caring for people of all ages, races, and ethnicities, I’ve learned a powerful thing; no matter what we are, we all are born into a world and will die into a world. Therefore, there shouldn’t be divisions, separation, inferiority, and human rights violations. The way immigrants are being treated with injustice is inhumane. Yet, it is the same immigrants as myself, who are able to give back and help PEOPLE as a whole.

Widelyne Laporte
​
Widelyne was born in Haiti and migrated to the United States at the age of 3 with her mother.  Widelyne is now a citizen, a licensed practical nurse and an actor.  
Facebook.com/widelyne.laporte
 
**Special thanks to Ricardo Arechiga for his graphic design of the project logo**
 
 

It is my privilege to be able to use this blog as a vehicle to share a series of stories from across the country about the American immigrant experience.  More on this project here.  The eighth story is by Valery Valtrain:

Like most children immigrants, I didn’t have any say in the big move to the United States of America. For some children, the move may seem like an adventure. But for others, the adventure involves leaving behind all that was once familiar in order to try to adapt to a world that even your parents are lost in. My mother, the only parent I’ve ever had, relied on me so much so; it sometimes felt as if we had somehow switched roles. Slowly, I began feeling the burden of being responsible for my mother. Feeling like it was my duty to ensure she was able to navigate around this new world, since I was the one adapting to it with greater ease. 
 
I grew up sooner than most. After all, I was responsible for so much more. I was often praised for having more maturity than my peers. Such is the life of an immigrant child. There is a duality to our nature that most of our peers could never embody. Our minds have to think in twos, always translating from one dialect to another. Always having to remember whom it is we are speaking to in order for the correct language to be spoken. We have to see the world through the lenses of our audience in order to ensure that we can truly relay the messages we are telling them. It often makes us more empathetic and more selfless. 
 
I bond better with people. I believe many immigrant children have an understanding of the world around us that most aren’t privy to. We are analytical by nature because we had to study the world around us more than once. We have to first make sense of the world for our own comprehension, and then have to continuously revisit it to explain it to our parents and anyone else in our families that aren't able to quite grasp it. We take in all of the information the world has to give and then we must scrutinize it in order to share it. Such a role, causes you to be attentive, to listen, to care, Perhaps that is why strangers tend to share intimate details about their lives with me, and friends often seek my advice.
 
Feeling compassion for others, seems to be a constant with immigrant children whose roles mirror my own. We are given the task to be responsible for our parents and in the process, we tend to feel responsible for the world.




Valery Valtrain
Val Valtrain is a writer, a mother, an American, an immigrant, and the daughter of immigrants.  She is interning with the Film Lab.
 
**Special thanks to Ricardo Arechiga for his graphic design of the project logo**

It is my privilege to be able to use this blog as a vehicle to share a series of stories from across the country about the American immigrant experience.  More on this project here.  The seventh story is by Rosa Soy:

I arrived in the United States on February 9, 1962, a day forever etched in my memory.  I was sent here by my parents through the “Peter Pan” program, curiously named after a boy who would not grow up, which allowed children from Cuba to be welcomed to the U.S.  The political undertones of this project were, of course, unknown to us at the time.

Having been uprooted from the relative comfort of our middle class lives, we were called “refugees,” and placed in shelters, orphanages, and foster homes.  We came alone without our parents who, we were told, would later join us.  The program had the dual purpose of embarrassing the Castro regime, and protecting us, so that we would not be taken from our family and sent to the Soviet Union.  Our parents assured us this was only temporary and they would join us in a short time.  

Temporary or not, the wounds of separation left lifelong scars. The interrupted childhoods the loss of homes, relatives, friends and pets, all that was familiar and dear to us, took its toll.  The promised protection came with a price -- separation from those we loved the most. And, as our parents encountered numerous obstacles to our reunification, the separation was often unbearably long and painful.  In spite of Peter Pan, we did grow up, apart from our families, making choices we did not always understand. We learned to relish our independence as immigrants to this nation.  We mastered a new language, became accustomed to new landscapes, tastes and smells.  Grateful for our good fortune, we pledged allegiance as new citizens, while longing for the people and places we had left behind, which had slowly begun to fade from our memories.
​
Today, as an immigration attorney, I am often taken back to the pain and struggles of the early years. But I am rewarded by assisting a new wave of young people who long to be accepted and welcomed as immigrants to their new land.



Rosa H. Soy
Rosa Soy received a “Meet the Composer” grant for the “Future Feminine”a mixed-media project, and is the co-writer of The Rose Slippers,a children’s musical, an award recipient of the 2004 Jackie White Children’s theater competition. Rosa’s plays Esperanzaand The Planhave received staged readings at New Jersey regional theaters. Her play Venial Sinswas selected for the 2004 Samuel French festival in New York.  And her short playPigeonswas presented at the 2005 Samuel French festival in New York.  Her play “Off Balance” was presented at Luna Stage Theater Company in Montclair NJ.  Rosa served as playwright in residence for Passaic County Community College during 2009 and 2010.  She is currently working on a book about her experiences as an immigration lawyer.

​**Special thanks to Ricardo Arechiga for his graphic design of the project logo**

It is my privilege to be able to use this blog as a vehicle to share a series of stories from across the country about the American immigrant experience.  More on this project here.  The sixth story was submitted in script format and is here:

It is my privilege to be able to use this blog as a vehicle to share a series of stories from across the country about the American immigrant experience.  More on this project here.  The fifth story is:

George by Riti Sachdeva 
 
In the mid-1980s, when I was in high school, my parents bought a house and moved us to a very white  suburb (vws) just outside of Boston.
 
In the svws, I went to a very white high school (vwhs), where I played the violin in the orchestra. Being a vwhs, every spring, the orchestra took a trip to play a concert in a different community.  My sophomore year,the  orchestra was invited to play at a high school in Montreal.
 
From the vwhs, we were three busloads of students, chaperones, and instruments… and three bus drivers. The driver of the bus I rode was named George.  He was dreamy with sparkling eyes, mischievous smile, and a super sexy goatee.  He was  probably in his mid to  late twenties, so in  my  teenage fantasies, he was the “perfect age.”
 
At fifteen, I was the perfect age for social and physical awkwardness.  I had braces, an  unruly head of coarse black curly hair, brown skin, big tits, big hips, and a big  ass.  No matter how hard I tried to have a cool American wardrobe, it just seemed bumbling on  my  body.
 
For the entire trip to the Canadian border, the girls on the bus flirted with George.  I wouldn’teven  make eye  contact  with  him, knowing that trying to be as charming  or beautiful  as the white  girls would  just  end in my  humiliation.
 
At the U.S.-Canada border, all  three buses stopped to go through Canadian  immigration.  We sat around for a bit before a Canadian immigratio nofficer stepped into the bus wanting to know:
 
Was there anyone who was not a US citizen?
 
I was  the only  brown  black  yellow or red student on all three buses.  I don’t recall  if the officer was looking directly at me…I raised my hand and volunteered my immigration  status.
 
He approached me.
 
Are you a permanent resident? Yes.
 
Do you have your green card with you? No.
 
Come with me.

As  I walked on  the  bus,  terrified, I  made  eye contact with George for the first time. He held my gaze, unwavering.  

Three busloads of impatient vwhs students watched me and the Canadian  immigration authorities enter a building where I was interrogated for an hour.
 
Why didn’t you bring your green card?  I didn’t know.  No one told me to.

Country of origin? India.

When  did you  come?  1975…?

Who did  you come with?  My parents.

Where have you lived? Parents names? Occupations? Mother's maiden name?
 
They checked through records on what was a computer back in the mid-1980s.  My green card number, my mother's green card number, my father’s greenc ard number, my parents' employers, other relatives in the U.S.
 
When, finally, they were satisfied that I was not a Sikh terrorist nor would I try to defect, they approved my entry into Canada.
 
I walked back to the bus wearing the stunned humiliation of being an Other:

a registered alien, immigrant, brown teenager amongst three entire busloads of white people, except for  the three Black men driving the three buses.
 
I stepped back into the bus and felt the hostile silence and impatient stares from the very white high school students.
 
I  looked at George, big tears thrusting their way to  the  surface  of my  eyeholes. He welcomed me with his shining eyes and uttered the one thing that could revolutionize the indignity of the moment.  He spoke a spell I carry, still, in the lining of my super hero magic…George grinned wide,
 
"It takes a special lady to hold up three buses.”



Riti Sachdeva
www.ritisachdeva.com
IG: @midniteschild
YouTube: 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrBSU9I7zOWxERjC1fPnAwQ/featured?disable_polymer=1

**Special thanks to Ricardo Arechiga for his graphic design of the project logo**

It is my privilege to be able to use this blog as a vehicle to share a series of stories from across the country about the American immigrant experience.  More on this project here.  The fourth story is by Eriko Tsogo:

My name is Erdenesuren Tsogtsaikhan. I am a Mongolian American cross-disciplinary artist, art management professional and Mongolian Shaman. I was born on the steppes of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in 1990 and grew up in Budapest, Hungary during the downfall of Communism. I immigrated to the United States my family at the age of 8. I am an alumni of Denver School of the Arts (2008), having attained my B.F.A (2012) from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Tufts University. I am based in Denver and mindscape Mongolia but live bi-coastally in the US. As of Fall 2018, I have officially started pursuing my graduate degree journey.

I am represented by Leon Gallery in Denver, Hive Gallery in Los Angeles and Red Ger Gallery in Mongolia. 2018 has been somewhat of a momentous time in my career after years of hard work I gained professional gallery representation from locally renowned Leon Gallery and had a successful one-woman solo art exhibition featuring all new never before seen series of works. The show was entitled “Wrong Women, Myths From Sky” and ran from February 17th to March 31st, 2018 at Leon Gallery.

Throughout my art career, I have had numerous art shows, orchestrated various curatorial projects and had the privilege to attend prestigious national/international art residencies throughout the United States. Alongside pursuing my artistic practice, I work part time as the Creative Director at the Mongolian Culture and Heritage Center of Colorado, the first non-profit cross-cultural organization of its kind founded in Denver. I am also a published author of two books and founder of “HiliteDreamer” contemporary apparel line. I am currently in process of completing my first international documentary animation film project between Colorado and Mongolia, due to release in 2020.

Having been born into an art family, art and creativity is my life. In 2008, I graduated Denver School of the Arts as a seven year Visual Arts major. I was undocumented and lived under the poverty line at the time. I had no means aspire for a hopeful future, but I believed in myself wholeheartedly and proceeded to fight the system in pursuit of my higher educational aspirations. Thanks to the strength of my art and academic record, I gained a full merit art scholarship to School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in affiliation with Tufts University and graduated with my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 2012.

As an immigrant originating from the margins of society, I have instilled in me an enduring level of survival rigor, work ethic, and drive for security and self betterment derived from all the hardships dealt and overcome in my life. I strongly believe in the power of education to defy against gender, career and economic societal constraints. I want to live a life fulfilled and support myself through doing what I love.

I was exiled from my country at a young age and immigrated to the United States (Colorado) with my family at the age of 8 in 1999. Up until the age of 20, I was considered an undocumented alien without any valid forms of identification. For many years, I had no social security, credit card, driver’s license or any means to acquire vital documents needed to build the basics of life in America. I was invisible to the system.  My lack of documents has hindered the quality of my life in America. After high school, I had no means to afford higher education. I had no social security and could not apply to any jobs regardless of my over qualification of skills. I had to resort to working “under the table” and obtain jobs that only paid in cash since middle school. When it came time for my college education, fortunately I had a great art portfolio among superb academic grades. I was accepted into School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Tufts University on a full ride scholarship based purely on the strength and merit of my art portfolio. I received my college education thanks to my art, which taught me the importance of how meritorious it can be to develop and excel at a skill of yourown.

I am diversity embodied. I identify as a DACA applicant and a minority, woman artist of color coming from an underrepresented cultural community. I suffer from extenuating financial hardship inside a politically binding system that is out of my control. Coming from an immigrant family and being a first generation immigrant myself, I have survived thus far in the system by learning to live in repression and fear. At one end, fear and the lack of opportunities dictate my choices and the way I navigate my life in America but at the other end, I have learned to become resourceful and to earn my place/fight hard for my dreams. Like a badge of honor, I have fought teeth and bone for everything I have in my life today, nothing was handed to me. There were many difficult periods in my life where my family and I barely got by having had to survive on food stamps and community assistance programs for the poor.

But regardless of my legal label or handicap financial status, I take refuge and a sense of equality in my human rights. I am a Mongolian American woman artist of color and minority who continues to be unfairly marginalized with all that I do in my life. I try my best not to let the derogatory, discriminatory surface labels affect my inner freedom as a world citizen. I wholeheartedly believe in myself, my potential and the power of my art to positively contribute to society but need the platform, the means to be heard and supported.

In 2012, Obama’s administration approved the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA). In 2013, I was granted “temporary status protection” under the DACA policy since I immigrated into the US at a young age; I was admissible under all the required policy regulations. I was finally given a social security card but because DACA is still just a policy and does not grant a “permanent change of status”, I am still considered undocumented in the eyes of the law. This means I continue to be restrained and limited in all that I can legally do/receive benefit wise from the US government which limits the quality of life I can have in America, creating an economically deprecating, handicap lifestyle margin.
After Trump presidency came into administration, my DACA status and future in America has become even more critically jeopardized. I now hinge on a completely uncertain future as to whether or not my DACA protection will indefinitely continue to extend or not. I live in constant political turbulence but take full refuge in the hope and serenity of my art practice to feel human, and to golden opportunities of education as a way to afford myself a hopeful future in self-government.
​
My ever-revolving identity as a first generation Mongolian American nomadic voyeur profoundly shapes my artistic process and approach to life. My artworks act as part biographical expose, portraying the universal psychological inner journey of the marginal identity. I seek to help transform the lives of others through the power of art by way of empathy, inspiration, and empowerment

**Special thanks to Ricardo Arechiga for his graphic design of the project logo**
 
 Eriko Tsogo
Eriko Tsogo is a Mongolian American visual artist and filmmaker born on the steppes of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Eriko grew up in Budapest, Hungary and immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of 8. She is an alumni of Denver School of the Arts (2008), having attained her B.F.A (2012) from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Tufts University. She is based in Denver and mindscape Mongolia but lives bi-coastally in the US.  Eriko has had numerous art shows, curatorial projects and art residencies throughout the United States. Alongside pursuing her artistic practice, Eriko works as the Creative Director at the Mongolian Culture and Heritage Center of Colorado. She is also a published author and founder of “HiliteDreamer”contemporary apparel line. She is currently in process of completing her first international documentary animation film project between Colorado and Mongolia, due to release in 2019.  Eriko’s ever-revolving identity as a first generation Mongolian American nomadic voyeur profoundly shapes her artistic process. Her artworks act as part biographical expose, portraying the universal psychological inner journey of the marginal identity thereby helping transform through the power of empathy, inspiration, and empowerment.
 

It is my privilege to be able to use this blog as a vehicle to share a series of stories from across the country about the American immigrant experience.  More on this project here.  The third story is:

Home of the Brave by Avantika Rao, Attorney 
 
I am a longtime asylum and immigration lawyer who has worked with immigrants from Zimbabwe to Argentina.  While U.S. immigration law is historically oppressive and exclusionary, I use the law to multiply freedom, to unite immigrants with their family, to allow longtime immigrants to be able to vote and participate as U.S. citizens, and to protect those who have been dehumanized due to their dissident or minority status.  
 
While I am a joyful spirit, I have experienced and been witness to more suffering than most could conceive.  I am myself a survivor of virtual captivity and I work with immigrants and torture survivors from all over the world.  I also recruit and mentor diverse attorneys to stay in the legal profession despite life-threatening challenges such as burnout, prejudice, and addiction.
 
I am still haunted by the memory of the Salvadoran trans woman who had been disowned by family, tortured by police, and was enslaved as a performer in Mexican cantinas.  Despite being jailed with the men, living with HIV, and suffering a stroke, she continued to send me drawings of Catholic saints with halos and hearts, adorned with messages of love and gratitude.  
 
She lost her claim for protection as a persecuted sexual minority.  The white male immigration judge stated that she had a “victim complex” and blamed her for not remembering either her prior political asylum claim or details of the traumatic events.  Judges can embody prejudice, transphobia, and patriarchy in their black cloak.  She had been raped so many times that she had blocked entire years out of her memory.  
 
While intense trauma is not uncommon among the asylum seeking population, what is heart opening is the myriad ways in which immigrants and asylum seekers bravely overcome.  Over the years, there were children and families from all over the world, crime survivors who qualified for visas after they cooperated with law enforcement investigations, political dissidents, girls or women or sexual minoritiesescaping forced female genital mutilationor domestic slavery or sexual assault, those whose nations were engulfed in deadly civil strife, those whose particular social groups made them subject to persecution, and those who wanted to reunify with their family, work in the United States, or be united with an immigrant they had fallen in love with.
 
I recently worked with a Nigerian woman whose bravery clarified for me the profound reason why I do this work.  She had been through absolutely horrific domestic violence and stalking. Yet, she was so strong, sure of herself, and positively effervescent.  
 
In a tribal marriage custom of Nigeria, the husband pays the bride’s family a “bride price” at the time of marriage.  The return of that money finalizes a divorce.  A husband can block a divorce by refusing the returned bride price. This is what happened in this woman’s situation.  
 
As a daughter of Indian immigrants growing up in suburban Los Angeles, my childhood had largely consisted of me witnessing my father turn my mother into a virtual captive through aggressive assaults, verbal degradation,restrictions on food and finances, and isolation. 
 
The tactics were even harsher when unleashed on us childrenbecause we had no way to defend ourselves and had no money of our own.  It was a prison like atmosphere.  He tied me up with ropes and left me locked in dark rooms.  Food and clothing rations were given in an atmosphere of coercion and penance. He gave in to my pleas for pet dogs only to chain them up in the yard and flagellate them when they barked with loneliness before dropping them back at the shelter.  If I asked for a Christmas decoration or a Halloween costume, I would get verbally assaulted for weeks before he would find something so incredibly cheap and ugly that I would conclude that I should not have asked in the first place.
 
My father created an elaborate facade.  He was the quite literally the P.T.A. President.  I recall the evening that I witnessed my father drag my mother down the stairs by her hair and, fearing for her life, called the police.  Two male L.A.P.D. officers stood outside on the stoop. “Is everything fine?”  The abuser stood an inch or two away from her, quivering with rage.  He had already torn the phones out of the wall.  She nodded.
 
I was mercilessly punished for trying to save my mother's life.  My school books torn up.  Assaulted and terrorized.  Forced to give up any hard-won scholarship monies received.
 
In my diary, I recorded the moment that I realized that my mother would never leave.  I had come home and the abusive episode had already occurred.  Adead feeling in the air.  My father said authoritatively to my mother, “No one will ever believe you because I talk nicely to everybody.”  She went to the front door of our home in Los Angeles.  She opened the door.  She let out a primal scream.  Then, she closed it.
 
She never sought refuge in a domestic violence shelter.  She shunned counseling.  She and my father constantly insulteddivorced women. She boasted about the dozens of invitations to lavish weddings and social events she got each yearfrom people she barely knows because of her status as a married woman in the local Indian immigrant community.  Inside, she remains paralyzed with fear andshame, never wantingher toxic secretsrevealed to an adjudicator or discussed by the other Indian immigrants we socializewith.  The fear and shame is still infused inevery fiber of her body.  A code of silencehidden in ever larger and more luxurious homes and encircled by an invisible mental fence.
 
In my work to free survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, I often come across grooming, justifications, and feedback loops that enable the abuse.  Each abuser has their own ecosystem.  Manyin the ecosystem, including the victims,act as apologists and enforcers for the abuser.  Those targeted for abuse quite frequently either numb themselves through addiction or perpetuate the abuse.  Abusive ecosystems replicate themselves.
 
I recently observed to my mother that it was not that she ever made an affirmative decision to stay, but that she quite simply never developed the courageto leave.  “I agree, I am not brave,” she replied.
 
Bravery is developed in the face of challenge to life or freedom.  There are many alternatives to developing bravery. Self-pity, obsessing, or distraction.  Workaholismor rescuing behaviors.  Self-neglect or self harm.  Harming othersthrough abuse. Adictive or compulsive behavior. Enmeshment.  Perfectionism.  Drama. And there is always the option of remaining paralyzedin fear and shame.
 
The Nigerian womanhad unsuccessfully reported the abuse to the police and a human rights commission.  The police had said, “Go back to your husband, madam.”  Neither had reined in the abuser, much less investigated the matter. 
 
I asked what it was that sparked the Nigerian woman’s decision to flee.  She said she hadread articles about domestic violence. She realized that itwas a major social problem, indeed a life-threatening one.  Though she had attempted to get her daughters passportsto be able to travel with her, her abuser used their two young daughters as leverage. After she fled, her abuser sent achilling message with a photo of the girls’ passports stating that she would never see her children again.  
 
She fled to the U.S. without her two daughters.  At the time she fled, her girls were not even old enough to attend school. I filed for gender-based asylum for her.  We  won. However, her ordeal is far from over.  Her gaining asylum is just the first step in a long fight to petition the legal system for her daughters to be reunited with her. In the Nigerian courts, from what I have read, it is a system in which the father’s power over custody and family decision making power is assumed.
 
When she read the articles, she realized that her very life and freedom wereat stake.  In her flight to freedom, she, like many of the courageous immigrants I represent, exemplifies bravery.  I hope that one day I get to witness the smiles of her two daughters holding their mother’s hands in the home of the brave.

Avantika Rao
Avantika contributes to spiraling up justice through direct service (particularly to immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or modern-day slavery), uplifting diverse candidates into the legal profession, and collaboratively detonating injustice and prejudice.  Avantika has defended (adult & child) immigrants at the US-Mexico border and served as a founding attorney in San Francisco's immigrant defense network.  Her Sacramento-based law practice operates at the intersection of immigration & human rights.  Prior to law school, Avantika studied environmental and gender policy in the U.S., India, & Nepal.  She prefers milk chocolate to dark. 

​**Special thanks to Ricardo Arechiga for his graphic design of the project logo**
 

It is my privilege to be able to use this blog as a vehicle to share a series of stories from across the country about the American immigrant experience.  More on this project here.  The second story is:

NOT QUITE by Ada Cheng, Ph.D.
 
On May 27, 2015, my guests and I arrived at the USCIS building in downtown Chicago right before 1 PM to attend my citizenship ceremony. There was a long desk inside the entrance of the ceremony hall and three agents were sitting there. When it was my turn, the first agent took my green card and my notice. The second one examined them and threw them into this big yellow envelope while the third one checked my name off a list. 

My heart sank when I turned in my green card. This was the only legal documentation in my possession to prove that I was documented or legal in this country. At that moment, I was without any documentation. I suddenly became an “illegal” in the eyes of the state. I started to panic as I walked into the big hall, where hundreds of immigrants like me had already been seated. It was very scary to be with hundreds of people without legal documentation. It was as if we were waiting for our collective sentence. Theoretically, any one of us could be arrested, locked up, and deported right there and then. But deported back to where? It has been more than two decades since I left Taiwan in 1991. I have family there, but it has not been my home for more than two decades. Going back there is not going home. But then where is home? 

My heart pounced every time an agent walked toward my direction. I kept thinking to myself: Is this all a trap? Is the agent going to tell me something was wrong with my application and they changed their mind about naturalizing me? Did they not believe me when I told them during the interview that I didn’t torture anyone, that I didn’t engage in genocide, that I did not intend or attempt to overthrow the US government, that I was not a communist, that I was not a terrorist, that I was never in prison, that I never committed felonies, that I was not a gambler, that I was not an alcoholic, that I did not abuse any drugs, that I didn’t force anyone to have sex with me, and that I didn’t solicit sex? 

Suddenly, I saw my guests enter the hall and take their seats. After a few minutes, the director walked up to the podium and announced that the ceremony would begin. I felt a sense of relief. When we were watching the documentary, the narrator talked about how fortunate it was that we, like previous generations of immigrants, escaped war, poverty, and political and religious repressions, to come to this country to pursue the American dream. I immediately felt terrible that I invited my colleague to the ceremony. You see, my colleague was a 70-year-old African American man. His ancestors didn’t come to this country voluntarily. What was my celebration was not necessarily his to have even though he was very happy for me. Our stories were connected yet very different.  

I got through the ceremony and eventually received my certificate of naturalization. This certificate has two numbers. It has the number for the certificate. It has another number A#########. Do you know what that A stands for? I didn’t even realize the significance of these two numbers until when I tried to apply for the Affordable Care Act health insurance in December 2016. They asked for both numbers on the application when I identified myself as a naturalized citizen. That A stands for alien. That’s my Alien registration number. A number I carried for decades before becoming a citizen. You see, those numbers are for registration, and there is always a registry for aliens. I am forever reminded of my Alien status every time I am asked for them. 

Most people would assume that the process of naturalization enables immigrants like me (let me be clear, a very privileged one) to assimilate into this country, become part of this country and finally be home. I have contributed to this country by educating young people at the university for 15 years. Here is the irony. Not as a citizen, but as an immigrant. First on my H1B visa and then with my green card. This country has entrusted immigrants with many of her most important jobs, including raising children, caring for the sick, and educating young minds, yet we are forever unwelcome. As much as I try to blend in by achieving the American dream, this country or shall I say this government is never going to let me forget that I am indeed an Alien and I will forever be one. 

So this is my American journey. My American dreams pursued and achieved, but I am still not home.



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Shu-Ju Ada Cheng
Ada Cheng is a professor-turned storyteller and performing artist. She has been featured at storytelling shows in Chicago, Atlanta, Cedar Rapids, New York, Asheville, and Kansas City. She debuted her first solo show, Not Quite: Asian American by Law, Asian Woman by Desire, in January 2017, which later received a great review from Washington Post. She debuted her second solo show, Breaking Rules, Broken Hearts: Loving across Borders, with Fillet of Solo in January 2018. In addition to performing it at The Exit Theatre in San Francisco in June, she will also bring it to the United Solo Theatre Festival New York in October this year. Ada is the producer and the host of the show, Am I Man Enough: A Storytelling/Podcasting Show, where people tell personal stories to critically examine the culture of toxic masculinity and the construction of masculinity and manhood. She is also the co-producer and co-host of Talk Stories: An Asian American/Asian Diaspora Storytelling Show, a show that features Asian/Asian American performing artists and storytellers. Her motto: Make your life the best story you tell. Her website: www.renegadeadacheng.com.
 




**Special thanks to Ricardo Arechiga for his graphic design of the project logo**