This class has really expanded what sustainability means to me. Before this class if someone asked me what it meant to be sustainable I would have probably responded in a way that did not even make sense because of my little-to-no understanding of what it means. While I still do not have a full understanding I certainly have a good grasp of the concept. I read both of the poverty readings for class this week- I was supposed to read the YES reading- and I did not agree with the fact that poverty is the cause of environmental degradation. But in my reading, I did agree with the fact that if we give people who are in poverty more access to their land rather than it being controlled by a higher power.

The TED talk we watched about Leyla’s presentation opened my eyes from the start of the video. When she initially discussed how a grocery store has the option of using paper bags instead of plastic bags with the idea of being more environmentally friendly, I never thought about how the paper for those bags has to come from somewhere, which is all of the trees that are being cut down in alarming amounts. It made me realize I still have a lot of learning to do when it comes to being more sustainable and that I need to think more critically about what is really being friendlier to the environment. The concept of designing for humility really stood out to me from the Fashion and Sustainability reading. I like to idea of designing something keeping in mind what will happen to it in the future and how it will become a part of our earth and how it will impact future generations. When we discussed biophilic design I really enjoyed learning about it. It made me think about how I will design in the future as an interior designer and how I could try to incorporate biophilic design into what I will be doing. It made me even consider specializing in biophilic design as well.