I am so inspired by this semester that I can honestly call it one of the best periods of my life. During this time, I not only discovered a new country, but also became closer to nature and a minimalist lifestyle.
I have been living in Australia for almost three months. Here, I became connected to a more conscious lifestyle and, for the first time in many years, stopped visiting fast-food restaurants. Instead, I discovered public electric grills in Australian parks where people cook and relax outdoors together.
This lifestyle also improved my health significantly. During my time in Australia, I lost around 18 kilograms thanks to a more active lifestyle, natural food, and avoiding fast food.
While studying in Australia, I began to see caring for the environment differently through everyday habits. One of the biggest personal changes for me was reducing my use of disposable coffee cups. I drink around five cups of coffee a day and previously almost always bought it in take-away cups without thinking about the amount of waste this creates. Later, I learned that many paper cups contain a plastic lining, which makes them difficult to recycle.
A few months ago I bought a set of reusable colourful cups from a local store. Surprisingly, I started enjoying coffee even more from them. For the past three months, I have not used a single disposable coffee cup.
This small change became something bigger during our journey across Australia. We travelled together as a group in one car and tried to follow a more environmentally conscious lifestyle. I gave reusable cups to my friends and explained the importance of reducing disposable waste. During the trip, we used reusable cups instead of single-use packaging. I hope this habit will stay with us even after the journey ends.
Long road trips, national parks, and living closer to nature helped me realise that caring for the environment begins with personal responsibility.
I also tried to minimise plastic use in everyday life. Throughout my stay in Australia, I rarely bought water in disposable plastic bottles because I constantly used two reusable bottles. One was for water that I could refill for free, while the second was for coffee and tea. These habits helped me significantly reduce plastic waste and become more mindful about resource consumption.
Another valuable experience was buying warmer clothes from a charity shop instead of purchasing new items, which helped reduce unnecessary consumption.
Perhaps one person cannot completely change the world or solve all environmental problems. However, I truly believe that even small daily actions can inspire others and help preserve nature for future generations. Every one of us wants to live in a clean world, see clean beaches, beautiful landscapes, and breathe fresh air. That is why I believe real change begins with the simple decisions we make every day.
