Beach Altruism

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Recommended: Altruism is selfless

Altruism can be defined as feelings and/or behaviors that lack a selfish nature, or show a desire to make a positive impact. Examples of this can range from something as simple as holding open the door for someone to volunteering in a soup kitchen. However, these only count as altruistic acts if done without a self-serving motive. When assigned this project, I pondered the many possible options for me to pursue as to help those around me, and decided upon an activity I have always yearned to do whenever seeing trash on the beach: a beach cleanup. There were many beaches that I knew of that were covered in trash, impeding upon human enjoyment of the beaches as well as the health of marine life in their areas. In order to aid our ailing, trash-covered coastline, a few weeks ago, my mom, sister and I trekked down to Half Moon Bay in the early morning in search of some possible cleanup …show more content…

At this beach, many mothers ran by with strollers, and many couples jogged together on its rocky outcroppings, giving it a very friendly feeling. However, with this more popular spot came more trash. While I was still surprised by how little there was adorning the coastline, there was considerably more to cleanup upon this second beach. Many cigarettes adorned the nearby grasses, and broken glass was an easy thing to spot glinting in the sun. A couple walked by me while picking up remnants of a glass bottle, and asked me what I was doing. When I explained that I was picking up garbage and doing an unofficial beach cleanup, they commended me and hoped that more people would follow my example. I smiled at them, thankful that someone had been touched by my act that day. I do not know for sure, but I imagine the sea creatures and humans in the area benefitted positively from my actions that day too, even if

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