Dear reader, let me tell you my story.
My name is Leo and I am 85 years old. It's the year 2088. Right now I am looking at my old photos.
These are the photos of my friends, family and me. As far as I can remember my childhood, every day was a happy day.
But let me start at the beginning. When I was a young boy, I used to play with my friends. We always played outside. The air was clean and fresh. The forests were green and full of life. All sorts of animals, big and small lived in them. Each day was exciting. In my imagination, I even made friends with a squirrel, a rabbit and a bear.
We created maps and looked for hidden treasure. We put up tents, rode our bikes and played outside from dawn till dusk.
As I grew older, I noticed that nature started to change. People became greedy. They started to pollute the Earth in many ways.
They cut the trees down to get more land for farming and the wood was also used to build houses and furniture. We learned a lot about it at school. I felt sorry for the wildlife, for the fox, the bear, the wolf.
In my mind, I had a picture of a crazy scientist working in his lab and doing experiments which caused a lot of damage to our world. People and animals suffered a lot. Some places got too much rain and there were floods, yet some other places got no rain at all. The soil was thirsty, yearning for a drop of water. I felt sorry for my family and every human being.
So I made a decision and told myself: 'When I grow up, I want to become a scientist who can help the planet and heal its wounds.'
I wanted to make the air, rivers and oceans clean, forests green and the sky, not black or grey, but blue again.
And I did all that. I got a degree in science and worked hard with other scientists on different eco projects. I did it with the help from good people and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
And here I am now, sitting in my favourite armchair, looking at the photos of myself and my grandchildren.
My grandchildren even found my secret chest filled with my old toys, maps and costumes. I am so happy to learn that they play the games that I used to play.
Now, I know that they have a chance to live great lives on this great planet that we call Earth.
Remember, my dear reader, you can do some great things in your lifetime too. All it takes is a good will and hard work. As the old saying goes - where there’s a will, there’s a way.
mentor: Ana Zelalija
OŠ Petar Berislavić
Trogir