A story about falling down the deep spiral of climate anxiety by youth worker Nina Kavčič, 25 yr, Žiri, Slovenia.
Since I was a little child, I was always getting lost in nature and have always been deeply connected to it. As I was growing up, I started noticing that there was less and less diversity in flora and fauna. A lot of 'my spots' have turned into a house or some other kind of construction. Nature has started to disappear in front of my eyes. But I did not know what exactly was happening. Until I saw my first documentary about the climate crisis in high school.
I became conscious and passionate about protecting nature. I used to be a very active environmental activist. Even though my studies were not directly connected to the climate crisis, I made sure that every single project I did was somehow connected to raising awareness about the climate crisis we are facing. The name of my diploma thesis was Media Representation about the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion. But during the process of writing it, I fell down the deep spiral of climate anxiety because to be frank, given how we are(not) handling the crisis our future is quite grim.
No matter how much I was fighting to preserve nature, I could not see any change happening. Not even the smallest change in behaviour, my classmates were still buying single-use plastic bottles, were not recycling, supporting fast fashion etc. In general, I started to feel hopeless.That is also why I have become ignorant and passive about action nowadays. I have realised that I can try to live my best life and be the change I hoped to see in others. You can be a good example and just hope people will follow your actions, but you cannot force a change on them if they are not prepared to change.