Kelly Munson, a fine example of VUSD education

Kelsey Munson wrote a letter to the editor today published in the North County Times with the kind of benficial community sentiments that make our world a better place if we all had them. Every educator in our district should be proud that wonderful students like Kelsey come from our VUSD schools. Kelsey and thousands of others make our jobs worthwhile. We are touching the future. Chista McAuliffe was right.

See the letter below:

The environment we are creating

Recently, I have been walking the streets of Vista and Oceanside, collecting the trash encountered along the way. Some friends have asked me why I am doing this, and my answer is simple: It needs to be done, and no one else will do it.

There is a downward cycle creating a negative environment that appears to be caused by two mentalities. First, many believe that there will always be someone else to clean up after them, or who will compensate for a person's negative contributions. Second, people do not have pride in their communities. Without pride in a community, why does it matter if the streets are lined with trash?

People complain about the sort of environments we live in with gangs, violence and filth, yet few are willing to do something about it. If everyone were to do their small part, I believe it would have an immense impact on the attitudes of everyone and reflect through the community.

There is an Indian saying that states, "We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." The actions of today will have a permanent effect on tomorrow.

I would like to challenge people to do their part in order for the next generation to have a better future, because who does not want a better world for their children?

Kelsey Munson
student, Vista High School
Oceanside

http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/letters/article_84de4a76-5764-5449-ae3d-3548696745f0.html