That’s odd, why isn’t the New York Times coming up on my newsfeed? Maybe it’s having some issues, I’ll just check the website instead … Huh? “I.P. address not found." Well, at least the paper is at the front door! No, wait a second—there are no newspapers to be found and it’s not just the New York Times, no Star-Ledger, or Washington Post, either. This cannot be real. I was reading the Times last night and my new subscription to National Geographic should be coming later today. Has media disappeared? If that’s true then, then…

Lying in bed, I am breathing rapidly. It was just another nightmare.

I tend to have a lot of weird dreams, but a world without the media would be one of my worst nightmares. Without the media, I would lose what I care most deeply about. I think that the most important role of media in our society is to play the watchdog, making sure that corrupt and horrific actions do not go unnoticed. To me, there has been no greater atrocity than the way the fossil fuel and other industries have treated our beautiful environment.

My fondest childhood memories all involve nature. Whether it was hiking on a trail that seemed to wind forever, or just pausing to gaze at the raw beauty of a landscape, I developed an appreciation that has fundamentally shaped the way I think about the world. I still remember when my father first told me about climate change and how I was terrified. For the first time in my life, something that I loved was threatened. As I matured, however, I learned to channel my fear into an ever-present desire to learn about the natural world. I began using the news to educate myself about the dangers it may face and what I could do to preserve it.

Many times, I feel like my deep desire to preserve the natural world is a curse. While others around me blissfully live their daily lives, the news floods my mind with the harsh reality of the world. Ice caps are melting, droughts are intensifying, deforestation is rampant and most people are not aware that our future is potentially bleak.

Solely learning about environmental issues in college, however, would not allow me to educate my peers on what’s going on around them. Then it hit me—it is the dedicated effort of journalists and reporters working hard to expose environmental issues that have taught me about the world and inspired me. I soon realized that journalism focused on the environment would be my life calling.

Journalism plays a critical role in our society bearing the responsibility of educating people about the dangers happening around us each day. A world without media would be a distraught one, those with power could take and destroy everything I hold dear without anyone noticing. Through journalism I am learning how to expose environmental atrocities, enabling myself to inspire others to create positive change.