Going Beyond Sustainability in Everyday Life

Sarah Moratto

Going Beyond Sustainability in Everyday Life

It’s been about three months now since my incredible study abroad experience in Brazil. Thinking back, it almost seems like a vivid dream. I know I was there and I haven’t forgotten what I learned during my time there, but somehow the contrast of my experiences there and my day-to-day life here in Arizona is so drastic that it feels almost unreal.

Traveling to Brazil was an experience unlike any other. The trip was filled with the social and cultural excitement I’ve experienced in many of my other travels, but was supplemented with an interesting and arduous academic lens. Analyzing the complex issues that Brazil is facing such as social inequality, water scarcity and the realization of basic human rights was such a unique experience. Apart form the feelings of privilege and guilt that I felt while I was there, I mostly wanted to make sure that when I returned home I would do something different in my life. It was a bit overwhelming because combating such large issues that take place so far from home can be hard to tackle, especially as a graduate student with a million different things on my plate.

Continue reading