Author: Thien Kim (5th grade student)

"Dear Mother Nature, 

We humans has done so much harm to you, and yet you still teach us more. You teach us to be giving, as trees always give us fruits. You teach us to be tolerant, as species of animals live together. You teach us to adapt, as preys have predators and places with extreme conditions. You teach us that everything has two sides as how important are predators controlling preys’ population. And you still give us fresh air, pure water, trees and so much more. But we didn’t care how your forests are being chopped down, your animals are almost extinct, your oceans and seas are being polluted. You whisper, you shout, and you cry, but we never listen until it’s too late… 

Tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, tornado, ... are roaming the planet to clean everything we have created on this beautiful planet. Then the virus. It spread as fast as lightning struck people. It is contagious, dangerous, and no cure is known. Everyone is scared and they shut themselves inside. But, apart from that, the waste from each family has reduced. Greenhouse gases, like CO2, has also decrease, meaning global warming is slowed down. Everybody thinks: “What a cruel virus!” but it’s just like some barrier to help you! The virus itself is unconsciously released when you can’t handle it any longer. And not only that, it creates or strengthens the bond between countries and families. Does anyone have notice how we’ve been together with each other during the quarantine? How we cheered each other? So, why not anyone has spent some time, some moment to think about the virus from different perspectives or to thank it? And the deaths, I shall include in here. Mother Nature, I know you’ve been trying your best to provide us food, water, and air. The virus itself has helped you, trying to create some space or time for you to rest. The human population is very large, if we don’t have enough space, we’ll most likely to chop down more forests. And I have one more thing to write to you:  

Thank you...

Thank you for all the trees you gave us. They have absorbed the CO2 in the air and gave us fruits. They have helped us with many diseases, gave us wood to build shelter, ships, or make paper. Thank you for the oceans and seas that cover more than three quarter of this green planet. They have provided us a big amount of water and salt. They have been a food resource for fishers. They have been an interest for many people. They have been a relaxing and calming place for stressful businessmen or business women. They have created many masterpieces. Thank you for the animals that are roaming on this planet. They have formed a perfect ecosystem that can never be better. They have made many people happy by being their pet. They have made scientist wanting to study more, to explore the unknown world of animals. They have inspired people to make teddy bears and plushies. And thank you for everything. We promise to help you, not to harm. We promise to stop whatever is damaging your gifts. We promise to spread this message to everyone. We hope that you will restore your purest state. And once again, thank you for everything you gave us."