Kyla Singleton

Over the past week, I’ve been reflecting on the idea that we may find more meaning and joy in life when our actions are aligned with our personal values. After some deep thinking, I realized that my most important values are authenticity, growth, connection, creativity, and balance. With these in mind, I chose one value each day to focus on and made small but meaningful changes. For example, to live out authenticity, I had a long-overdue honest conversation with a friend, which was difficult but ultimately deepened our relationship. On a growth-focused day, I pushed myself to attend a webinar I had been procrastinating on, and for balance, I unplugged from social media and took a long, quiet walk to clear my mind. These actions weren’t always easy to prioritize in the middle of a busy schedule, but having my values clearly defined helped me recognize what to say yes and no to. As a result, I’ve felt more grounded and energized, with a deeper sense of purpose guiding me through everyday life. For anyone still figuring theirs out, I recommend noticing what energizes or drains you throughout the week; it’s a powerful clue. I’ve included a photo from my "balance day" walk, it was a simple moment, but it reminded me that small choices aligned with our values can lead to a more joyful and intentional life.

TRANSPORTATION
Living in downtown Portland, owning a car feels more like a burden than a freedom. Between parking costs, traffic, and emissions, I’ve grown to appreciate how much public transportation simplifies my life, and reduces my carbon footprint. Although I already rely on TriMet to get around, this week I started reflecting more deeply on what that really means from an energy perspective. We often burn fossil fuels to save ourselves time and effort. But by choosing to take the MAX or bus, even when it’s rainy, slow, or crowded, I’m choosing to save energy for the planet, not just myself. This tradeoff became even clearer when I thought about how we treat food, burning through resources just for convenience, even if we end up wasting them. That same idea ties into the article we read on food waste and inefficiency.

This may not be much, but my dog was very sick and I spent the rest of my day taking care of her. Even though my dog is not a group of people, she is still community to me because she is my Emotional Support animal, and she emotionally supports me, and it was a way of giving back to her for all she does for me.

This was an interesting one, because it is such a small step but makes a big difference. I also took it a step further and only used cold water to brush my teeth. It did not make much of a difference in br4ushing my teeth, and it's not uncomfortable, do it's an easy and sustainable way to save water. Which begs the question, why leave the water running when brushing my teeth to begin with? In short I don't know how this even became a habit. Maybe other people can relate to this, but when leaving the water running, I tend to assume that I might need more water to wet my toothbrush later on, which usually never comes.

Meal planning is an effective strategy for reducing food waste and promoting sustainability.

Switching to cold water for washing clothes and dishes reduces energy use, lowers utility costs, and minimizes environmental impact. It also helps clothes retain their colors and vibrancy. Modern detergents make the transition easy, though breaking the habit of using hot water can be a challenging sometimes. Sharing ideas and experiences, such as rainwater collection, fosters collective action for sustainability. I am not ready to commit to cold showers yet, but I have tried using lukewarm water, which makes me want to have quicker showers, and I get out sooner, and that has to count for something.

Switching to cold water for washing clothes and dishes reduces energy use, lowers utility costs, and minimizes environmental impact. It also helps clothes retain their colors and vibrancy. Modern detergents make the transition easy, though breaking the habit of using hot water can be a challenging sometimes. Sharing ideas and experiences, such as rainwater collection, fosters collective action for sustainability. I am not ready to commit to cold showers yet, but I have tried using lukewarm water, which makes me want to have quicker showers, and I get out sooner, and that has to count for something.

Up until this challenge, I did not pay attention to how much paper was being wasted on my bill that are being sent by mail. Things like rent, medical, and even credit card bill will send me physical mail, and I have just gotten in the habit of shredding it, but this challenge has inspired me to take preventative meaures and just go paperless, and receive emails instead. My apartment likes to send receipts every month when you pay the bill, but that is unnecesarry. I went on the website and under Settings, I saw there was an option to go paperless, and stop getting the physsical mail, and only receive emails. There is the paper itself, and then the envelope, I could have been saving 12 letters a year by just my rent bill alone. I could save even more paper with the other paper bills too!