Common App College Essay

Give an Island Boy a Chance to Save the World…

or at least his Island

Rarotonga is one of thirteen small islands in the south-pacific, collectively known as the Cook Islands. It’s so small; you can’t even see it on most maps, and it’s not a place on Microsoft Office. It’s population is even less than your school. But I couldn’t care how small or insignificant it seems. I, Regan Makea Bloss, am proud of where I am from and the legacy I am apart of.

My Grandfather, Tui Pori Makea, was the King of Rarotonga and the ruler of the Cook Islands. He did everything in his power to ensure the welfare and prosperity of my islands; however now, my Cooks Islands are faced with a worldwide issue that is far beyond our control- Global Warming.

Global Warming over the past decade has had a serious impact on island nations. In Geoffrey Leans novel A Disappearing World he explains how Lohachara Island, home to ten thousand people off the coast of India, has been completely obliterated by rising tides. This seemingly apocalyptic event has solidified scientist’s predictions and it gets far worse. Not only have a number of other island nations, like Vanuatu, been forced to evacuate their populace as a precaution of rising seas, but Lohachara is not the only island to be completely destroyed; you can add Ghoramara, Kiribati and a number of other island nations you and I have never heard of to that list. Today, global warming refugees wander the Pacific without a home.

Some islands are victim to carbonic acid waters, which destroy coral reefs and all marine life, leaving only the name “dead zone” to signify no life. Not only does carbonic acid wipe out marine life, economies, and people who can’t get enough food, but it also kills a people’s livelihood and heritage, as many pacific nations center their culture around the ocean.   

The human cost of global warming, as tides continue to rise, will soon make seventy thousand people homeless. This sort of number was unthinkable five years ago, and not even thought of a decade ago.

Fortunately, having Rarotongan heritage has given me a completely different outlook on life. Just because something seems to be small, doesn’t mean it’s not important. I couldn’t imagine my home being destroyed, and I am sure you couldn’t either. And while it may seem unthinkable now, it might not be five years from now. Thus, I am motivated and determined, now more than ever, to proliferate the idea of global warming and its impacts through education. With a good education, and a life in politics after that, I will have the ability to affect change regarding Global Warming. I know my Grandfather would do everything in his power to stop human-stimulated global warming to save his country, which is exactly what I am going to do.  
I believe- thinking that you can’t change is wrong, but thinking that there is no need to change is tragic.