Wicked problems are pretty scary right? Trying to combat these issues can be equally as terrifying. Is what we are doing going to make a big enough impact? Do we have enough time to combat these problems before it is too late? Is the human race educated enough to combat these horrifying issues? Does the human race even care about the problems at hand? These wicked problems can be overwhelming at times and it is important to approach these issues with an open mind. Ways to help approach these issues more openly is with mindfulness practices. Mindfulness practices allow us to think of issues in more ways than just mental, we can also experience these practices physically and emotionally. Doing mindfulness practices has helped me in a number of ways. Setting aside time to meditate and ponder on different topics that arise has provided me with different outlooks on issues that I have not thought of before. These practices help me experience these issues in new lights, I find myself getting emotional at times whenever I ponder on these issues. I used to believe that the actions I took did not make that big of a difference. Even if I am recycling there are 15 houses down my street that don’t. Why would me recycling make a difference if it seems like no one around me takes notice of these issues? I think that the biggest issue that we face is this; not believing that what we do is not big enough to make a change. People, like me, believe that what we are doing is singular and not as a collective and that we cannot make a collective difference. The thing is, that we aren’t alone. Sure, it may seem like you are in your local area, but together collectively we can make a difference. Mindfulness practices have helped me realize this. I meditate daily and it helps me center myself in the universe and really think about the issues at hand. Participating in mindfulness practices has helped me think about these wicked problems through an emotionally, physically, and intellectual way. Sitting and pondering on these problems allows for a more centered approach when discussing these issues. A big issue that I believe our society faces in combatting these wicked problems is that it may not seem “cool” or “attractive” to do things this way. Whenever you see influencers and celebrities today, they usually do not promote the green alternative, but the brand that pays them the most to promote their item. People are inherently greedy especially when it comes to money and this is evident with today’s culture. It all about getting the new clothing line that is popular, but made in sweat shops on the other side of the world. These influencers and celebrities do not think about how the product they are endorsing is made the majority of time, but how much money they can make off of this endorsement. This falls down the ladder to the consumer level by fans of these influencers and celebrities thinking that because their favorite celebrity has endorsed it that they should get it and are completely blinded to the fact that what they are buying is contributing to wicked problems. Ignorance is what I believe is the single biggest factor that plays into these problems being around. I was completely ignorant of these issues before I took this class. This class has helped me learn about these issues and how to approach them in a compassionate way. Meditation is the way that we were taught to approach these issues with compassion. Meditating every day has allowed me to approach not only these wicked problems with a more open approach, but everyday issues as well. Being able to respond to not only the problems with humility and compassion, but to the people you are discussing these issues with is something that I have come to understand from taking this class. I am an Architecture major and always thought that I would become an architect that made an insane skyscraper that defied what people thought was possible. After being in this class it has shifted my thinking about architecture. I now want to approach my field with humility and finding ways to fix these problems, I believe that I can do this in different ways. One way is to reduce how much minerals we use. Cement is one of the basic building blocks of architecture, but there is a massive downfall for using cement. Cement can be recycled, but only downcycled. Cement can be recycled but it can only be recycled into an aggregate substance that is only good for things such as pot hole filling. The way that I want to combat this is by making buildings that are easy to take down, able to be expanded upon easily, and I would also like to repurpose buildings. Tearing down buildings is a feat in and of itself, but if we made buildings that were designed to be tore down this would help with quicker demolition times. This class has allowed me to reconsider how I will approach my profession throughout my college and professional career. Taking these ideas to my circle of influence has been quite easy. I live in an apartment close to campus and my roommates and I have been recycling now for 2 months. Whenever I have talked to my friends and family about this issue, they are like how I was before taking this course; completely ignorant of wicked problems. Informing people of wicked problems is the biggest thing that we need to do as a community. I believe we can start doing this in our everyday lives. I know that it may seem like we aren’t making a difference, but if we can show people how to combat these problems, we will be able to make a difference faster than if we just stayed silent. Growing our community of eco-aware people not only helps us, but our Earth as a whole. The Earth has been showing signs that we are abusing and taking advantage of it, and we are needed to help make this known to everyone around us. I started this class not knowing anything about wicked problems and I am now leaving it inspired and ready to make a real difference. I believe that we can make a global change with being conscious with our decisions, votes, and actions. I never thought about things like global warming, I thought it was something that I would just see in the news and it would somehow magically disappear. This approach to that wicked problem is completely ignorant. It takes everybody to make this world better. We can do this by purchasing clothes from manufacturers that do things ethically and use materials that are eco-friendly. Also investing into cars that are electric or eco-friendly. I believe that the biggest differences are going to be made when the government steps in to help make an impact. Subsidizing the renewable resource area of manufacturing would help tremendously with the world getting away from relying on natural resources that are limited. I believe that we are not far from making this world a better place, but we need to be mindful of the steps and actions we are taking,