By: Francesca Mundrick
Dear Little Francesca,
As I move forward past the most difficult year of my life, I cannot help but to think of you. What you represent is a shining light- a warmth bred from expansive imagination, fearlessness, and happiness. I look to you for inspiration and hope as I tackle the new challenges of adulthood in pursuit of accomplishing our dreams. It is your interests and passions that paved the way for my education and career accomplishments thus far. I find it prudent that as I bring our ideas to life that I take a moment to reflect fully on you and how you influenced where I am today.
You started our journey of environmental connection by becoming the best Nature Girl you could be! In the Second Grade at age 6, you participated in a classroom project on the ecology of Monarch Butterflies. Watching the Monarch caterpillar grow and grow, eventually metamorphizing as if by magic, into a beautiful new Monarch Butterfly. Something about witnessing this changed how you look at the world forever. Whether it was an inherited instinct or spiritual intervention, the Monarch Butterfly sent you on a path that defined our life. From then on, all that mattered was the natural world and a fascination that grew into a life’s passion.
Soon you pursued books on butterflies, birds, and insects. You eagerly ventured out into our woodland home backyard to observe and interact with nature. You sat with our parents, using our new books as a checklist to track the organisms you encountered. Seeking an active challenge, you became an explorer. What is more telling and truly remarkable is your keen inherent understanding of the beauty, fragility, and intrinsic value of life. Zoobooks, interactive toys, experiments, Girl Scouts, and outdoor activities paved the way for your learning. Much of your focus continued on Monarch Butterflies. You catch caterpillars in order to witness their cycle of life emerge over the weeks, somehow understanding that the Monarch’s journey represents something much grander in the global network of life.
Your spirit pushed me to new heights in adolescents-involved, confident, and eager to learn. As I moved into college study and beyond, I first struggled with honing in on a specific discipline in which to frame my degree. Due to your spirit and multitude of interests, I knew the environment called to me. I only knew my novice considerations of global connection and environmental injustices. Eventually, I found geography, the discipline of global connectivity. Studying the physical, cultural, and environmental aspects of Earth became my personal mission and soon you, the Nature Girl, were fed with greater knowledge that broadened our horizons forever.
Now as I begin to utilize my education and professional experiences to do good, to be good, and to make a difference in the world, I only think of you. You are the foundation of our soul and together we will share our passion for the environment with the world. As a part of me, you are the force of unrelenting optimism that needs to continue to burn bright as I begin to leave our mark on the world. I send you much thanks and I am truly grateful for you.
Love, Big Fran
With inspiration in sustainability,
Francesca Mundrick
WEGSS Founder & Team Member
Francesca, age 7 at Elementary School
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