No Plastic Straw January

For this year I decided to challenge myself and do something new each month that would make a difference to me personally, the people around me or possibly the whole world. I don't have a list for the whole year I'm just taking it as it goes with what inspires me at that moment. So for the month of January, I decided to do a no plastic straw month. I was inspired to do that after I watched a video of a turtle that had a plastic straw stuck in its nose after someone threw it in the ocean. I remember feeling guilty and very sad about it because something as simple and as small as a straw could actually do harm to the world. After that, I did more research about it and educated myself and decided to go through with it for a whole month and see what happens. Also, a month of doing something is a good enough time to actually make a habit out of these challenges if I could stick to them for the whole month. Some people might say that one person cant change anything but let me tell you it starts with one person, and that person talks about it to someone else, and then they become two, and two turns into a small group and after that a large group. That's how you change the world in my opinion. You just have to find like-minded people and trust me you will. To be honest I panicked on December 31 because I hyped this up for two weeks to everyone around me, and I was scared that I might forget and disappoint myself and others even though I think forgetting and using a plastic straw, then admitting that you did is just a part of the experience because I honestly thought that stopping was going to be difficult but it turns out it was the opposite. I actually found out that we don't need plastic straws in everyday life, but we don't really think about it we just use them unconsciously, or just because they are there or someone is offering them to us. During the whole month of January every time I went out to eat and ordered a drink, I would specifically ask for my drink with no straw and no ice, just to make drinking easier for me. The first time I asked the waiter for my drink without the straw, I thought he might think that it was a weird thing to ask, but I was actually surprised with the way people were taking it, they were very encouraging. Also the reaction I got from family, friends, colleagues, and strangers was surprisingly pleasant I wasn't expecting that much care and support, so it was really nice and it gave me the push to go through with it and the hope that we can really do something positive as a group if we put our minds to it. I hope as a start that when you go to a restaurant straws would be optional and, that they actually ask you if you want one when you order a drink, or until the customer asks for them and maybe by then I hope that we would stop using them completely. I'm doing something different for every month in 2018 so if you want to be a part of this or you were inspired by this and want to challenge your self with something else please feel free to do that and write about it then send it to me to share our experiences and learn from each other. Send your submissions to millennialsub@gmail.com Thank you.