And the Oscar Goes To....Flipper!

Ever since I was a little kid, I have been interested in the environment. My conservative parents must have shuddered in horror when I took up "greening" our home by obsessively sticking bricks in toilets to save water and cutting up the plastic soda rings so an innocent duck's little head wouldn't get stuck. I wasn't a complete hippie ("let it mellow if its yellow" was not in my vocabulary), but I did have a passion. I think this may have stemmed from my grandmother's environmental pursuits living at the beach; cleaning up and beautifying the beach and helping those tiny baby turtles make that treacherous trek to the ocean each year. I had so much enthusiasm for this as a child, but over the years, lost it somehow. I guess that's what happens when selfish teenage hormones take over and all you care about is who will ask you to the homecoming dance and why did your crush blow you off between 1st and 2nd period last week? I digress.

Anyways, once you hit that inevitable quarter life crises and start questioning your place in the world (is my purpose reallly to play kickball and flipcup the rest of my days?) things that you valued as child start cropping up again. As a child you were full of dreams and the I-can-accomplish anything attitude. You had hopes, ideas and the desire to make this world a better place. You were not yet pushed down by the reality of the world, finances and naysayers. But lately, as I begin to think about where I'm headed and what I want to do with my life, I think, why not? Why not pursue those interests and passions that have really always stayed with us from innocent children. Sure, we may have turned out as the less-than-perfect adult version of ourselves than we imagined at the age of 10, but that doesn't mean growth doesn't continue to happen.

As such, I hope to embrace this passion I had for the environment all those years ago. I mean there was something seriously going on in my head when I thought it was perfectly acceptable to take a picture with a SeaWorld dolphin trainer (whom I aspired to be someday) and show it to my friends, telling them that she was my cousin. As if, because she was my cousin - and not some complete stranger-this made me cooler and closer to becoming a dolphin trainer than her being a perfect stranger. This is just how my brain works I guess.

Although I long ago gave up on the dream of becoming trainer to THE BEST ANIMAL in the world, I hope to dive (pun intended) back into the world of environmentalism in any way I can. Luckily, I live in DC, the advocacy capitol of the country, so I am able to take advantage of events such as the Environmental Film Festival, which presents 155 diverse and thought-provoking films that celebrate the wonder of the natural world and illuminate the growing challenges to life on earth.

This year's festival specifically explores the connections between food and the environment. Food, environment and movies...the only thing missing here is alcohol, but count me in! Also, anything involving Philippe Cousteau (my obsession about Jacques is another post entirely) will entice even the most ardent hating tree hugger (c'mon, he's HOT.)

So if you live in DC, check out some of the movies that are playing at various venues through March 28.