The third week of the sustainability project was actually the most difficult for me. I didn’t think this would be the case because I felt like everything was going so well, but I guess I didn’t really understand how much change the third week would bring about.


The biggest challenge for me this week was the temperature change. It has been the most difficult thing for me all three weeks, but it was really tough this week. I will put it to you this way; it was so tough that I had to wear a jacket to bed. Anyway, the temperature was set at 63 degrees. I had a lot of restless nights, but I was fighting through it. One of my suitemates, however, was not having an easy time. I had thought everything was going ok, but apparently that wasn’t the case because on Thursday she decided to adjust the temperature. Though I was disappointed that she didn’t talk to me about it first, I could understand why she adjusted the temperature. She apologized, but I insisted that an apology wasn’t necessary because we inhabited the same area and I could understand why it would be hard for her to live in such uncomfortable conditions. Even though she turned the temperature up just three degrees, I could feel the difference and enjoyed it knowing that I failed. Overall, I was disappointed that the temperature adjustment thing didn’t work out over the entire three weeks. But honestly, it is hard for me to be too disappointed because I felt like I did a good job going out of my comfort zone. I am extremely cold-natured, and I am impressed that I was able to tolerate the temperature shift for even two weeks. Truly, it is hard for me to expect others to want to sacrifice their comfort for my project…

Just like the previous weeks, my biggest victory has been found in my short shower times. I actually took a 3.5 minute shower, which is amazing for me. The longest shower I took this week was 6.5 minutes, and the average of the rest was roughly 5.5 minutes. I finally stopped cutting my legs during speed shaving, too! As I have said in my previous journals, I am one of those people that usually take way too long in the shower. In a sense, I feel reformed because I honestly have gotten used to taking shorter showers. I am going to try to make shorter showers a permanent part of my lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean I will never take long showers. I might need to take at least a few… But, I truly believe it is doable to incorporate shorter showers into my lifestyle.

I also had to wash clothes this week, so that wasn’t too good. I washed two loads of laundry but instead of wasting energy by using the dryer, I just had them air dry in my room. It actually was pretty nice because we set it up to where half of our common room could be used to dry clothes, and I also saved money by not using the dryer. Win-win situation honestly…I unplug my computer anytime it isn’t in use now, which I never used to do prior to week two. I probably have wasted a significant amount of energy simply by not unplugging my computer. I feel a bit repetitive, but I used sunlight rather than room lights to during the day. I like sitting by the window while doing my homework. It is nice. I didn’t use the microwave this week at all as well.

I did well in the food aspect of the project as well. I survived being a vegetarian for four days, but it wasn’t really that enjoyable for me. Don’t get me wrong though, I enjoy vegetables a lot. I just enjoy eating meat as well. I don’t think there is anything wrong eating meat as long as you balance it out by eating other healthy things such as vegetables and grains. It is all about balancing out your diet. Like I have said before, I wish I could say something dramatic about food. I just really haven’t had issues. I am thinking that is a good thing!