As my internship draws to a close, I’m faced with the same question that I begin the internship with. Why am I working with an environmental non-profit, what difference could I ever make?

After all, some of the largest companies in the world will still produce overwhelming amounts of waste byproduct, people will continue to toss their trash out their car window, and large chunks of plastic will always dot our beaches like sick leaves on a dying plant. Trees will be replaced by light poles, native plants by decorative shrubs. Those involved with environmental activism will still bravely stand their ground against those who couldn’t care less and have more money than most people could ever imagine.

Quite frankly, my voice seems quite small amid the roaring of those who know more, have more, ARE more than me. In a world where it is much easier to do nothing than speak up for what we believe in, we all must make a decision to voice what we believe in. My heart has exponentially grown since my first day at Save the Dunes, and the non-profit has sparked a passion for the world that is knocking on our front door.

And in a seemingly insignificant moment sitting in our company meeting room, I realized my voice resonates. It bounces off the floor to the wall, again off the ceiling, being heard by those who sit in the room with me. I am not soundless, I am not voiceless, and I do make an impact. Maybe it won’t change the world, but it might just make my peers think a little differently than they did before.

My opinions do matter, and it is possible to voice them loudly. Like a small rock making waves in a pond, a grass growing in the middle of a cracked sidewalk, a bee pollinating the vegetables in a neighborhood garden. My voice is not as small as I have been made to believe.

Maybe the future I dream of is within reach, because my voice resonates.

• by Heather Elwood, Save the Dunes