Zoya’s Blog

My goal as part of the 2024 Oregon Kid Governor’s Cabinet is to reduce Oregon’s plastic waste and use it to make items that people use every day. Then we can also start replacing single use plastic items with alternatives that are better for the environment. My plan to do that is to work with an organization called Terra-Cycle to make all of the schools in Oregon a public pickup zone for plastic waste. With Terra-Cycle, I can create fundraisers for schools by collecting plastic waste that a Terra-Cycle worker will come pick up! With your plastic, your school can earn an average of $420 that it can use for better school supplies! While we have the fundraisers, I would also like to hold an event for parents and 5th graders to teach younger kids about plastic pollution and why we need to stop it.

Next, I will talk to a group of Oregon’s legislators who are trying to do the same thing that I am trying to do with plastic, and they can help me with my next several goals! First, I would like them to help me set up a meeting with some of Oregon’s recycling companies and other plastic reducing companies such as Terra-Cycle, so I can talk to them about my campaign! Then, I would like them to help me create an after school group to go around their towns to pick up plastic! I would also like to talk to them about maybe passing two different laws in Oregon. The first law would be to have these plastic fundraisers every year within schools, so new generations of kids and parents can teach and learn about plastic pollution! The next law would be to ban single use plastic items that are bad for the environment. Then we can start using either metal items that are reusable or single use natural items that are better for the environment.

As part of 2024s Oregon Kid Governors Cabinet, these are the goals that I hope to achieve during my one year term!

As all of you know my platform is about creating mental health awareness in kids. However, what most of you don’t know is my reason behind choosing this platform. This issue has a special place in my heart because I can relate to the people who suffer from a mental health problem.

It all started about 2 days after my 8th birthday. We were going somewhere and some conversation (I don’t remember what now) had triggered my anxiety. That night I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned but my worries kept me awake. Finally at about 11 pm I walked downstairs and told my mom about what was happening. She asked me what was happening but I couldn’t explain it to her. I told her that I felt like there was a “lump” in my throat. She came upstairs and put me to bed. For the first 2 days this happened, my parents thought that I was making it up. They told me to be strong, and to shake it off. These were people who wanted to help me, but they just did not realize that anxiety could happen to a kid. This lump was making it hard to eat or drink. Now, there was not an actual lump in my throat, it just felt like it. When my parents noticed that I wasn’t eating they called my pediatrician, who gave referrals to a therapist, who had a month-long waitlist. We tried so many things to make me feel better, from massages to math, but nothing worked, not even reading (my favorite thing to do). To me, it felt like this was NEVER going to go away. It felt so hopeless that I taped a piece of paper that said “shut up mind right now.”. Eventually, we tried a guided meditation on YouTube. At first guided meditation was really hard. I wanted a solution immediately, but meditation doesn’t work like that. It required patience, which I didn’t have at the time. I started to develop patience, and then meditation was super helpful. The result wasn’t instantaneous but it worked. Slowly but surely I started to feel better. Soon instead of my anxiety happening every day, it happened only once or twice a week. Soon, it was a rare occurrence. However it still has not completely gone away, and it probably never will. The best I can do is have efficient strategies to deal with it. Even though guided meditation helped me it may not be the best strategy for you. Try doing something that you like to help you feel better.

Everybody goes through rough times every once in a while but getting support from others is really important. I like to imagine it like you are carrying a huge load of bricks. You’ve tried for a while and you still cannot move it. Eventually, you call someone to help you, and together you can share the burden, instead of one person carrying the whole thing .There are still some people out there who believe that kids having a mental health disorder is ridiculous. That’s why it is important to share our stories to let people know that this is a real issue.

P.S. I still do a lot of guided meditation. Sometimes when I have one of my anxiety attacks, my parents will play a meditation video on their phone at night when I go to bed. They are so relaxing that sometimes I am asleep before it even ends! Personally, I feel like guided meditation rids my mind of all my worries, and calms me down a whole lot. I generally do the sleep ones, but there are some for a lot of other things. This is the one I like the best. You can find a lot more on YouTube and see which one works best for you. Click play below to do the meditation:

Have you ever felt like you were going to explode with excitement? Well that was how I felt on Jan 25. This was “The Day!” The day I had been waiting for since November 27. This was the day that my aunt and uncle had come all the way from Seattle for. This was the day my friends had missed school for. This was the day I had missed school for. This was it. This was my Inauguration day.

The moment I woke up, I was busy. My to-do list for that morning had been: wake up, eat breakfast, take a shower, wait for everyone else to take a shower, change into my inauguration outfit (which was very special since my grandma sent it all the way from India), and LEAVE. The night before, it had been made very clear that no lollygagging was to be done and that we must be out of the door by 11:OO because we were going all the way to Salem. WE did make it out on time. When we first caught sight of the capitol building, I was in awe of the gorgeous place. Just thinking that so many important people had been inaugurated here and that my inauguration was here too, sent shivers down my spine.

When we entered the building, the first thing we saw was a metal detector. But as we got closer to the Senate Chamber Things felt fancier and lavish. When we got to the senate Chamber itself, I took a sharp breath. A fancy podium was at the head of the room and the seats in front were cushioned and they swiveled. The Chambers’ high ceilings were floor to ceiling polished wood. As others filed in, I could see how this place looked while meetings were in session. I could almost imagine an important person giving a speech, with a crowd hanging onto their every word. When everyone arrived, the Deputy Secretary of State Cheryl Myers gave a speech. She spoke about what the Oregon Kid Governor program was about and how I was elected. In a few minutes she was introducing Lea Andrus (The 2023 kid governor) who gave a speech about what she did in her term and what her platform is. And then before I knew it, it was my turn to give a speech. Before I gave my speech I was sworn in by retired Oregon Supreme court Justice Paul De Muniz. As he delivered the oath of office, I put my left hand over my heart and held out my right hand, and I felt so happy and proud.

I had come with the expectation that I would be nervous. But once I got two paragraphs into the speech I realized that it was not that bad. The words flowed off my tongue naturally and I felt confident in what I was saying. My speech felt like it lasted 5 seconds but in reality it was three minutes. After my speech I spoke with Senate President Rob Wagner who was very nice and funny. Then I had a conversation with State Treasurer Tobias Read who had previously sent me a letter congratulating me on my election as Kid Governor.

So many elected officials were shaking my hand that day. So many people were congratulating me. So many camera crews were waiting to take my interview. So much happened that day. When I walked out of the door that day, I felt so excited. This was the day that it all became real.

Hi, my name is Phebe and I was a final candidate in the 2024 Oregon’s Kid Governor Election. I’m now a member of the Kid Governor’s Cabinet working with 2024 Kid Governor Zoya!

I ran on a platform of saving our endangered species, such as the rusty patched bumblebee. I chose this issue because I already knew how bees that nest underground were endangered, and bees are vital to our food supply. I want to keep our ecosystems healthy, so this is why I ran for Kid governor. My three-point platform is:

1. To inform teachers and children on the nature around us and encourage schools to take students on more nature hikes.
2. To create a save the bees, save our food sources committee.
3. Successfully run a fundraiser and donate the money raised to the Oregon Bee Project.

Since the Statewide Election, I have made a flier for my first point and have taught my classmates about my experience at the inauguration. I will continue to work on my platform by running a penny drive at my school, Pacific Ridge Elementary.

If you would like to support my platform, you can share my flier and donate to my future fundraiser. Download flyer