The New York Times Summer Reading Entry that Won me Runner-Up

{ here is a link incase you wanted to see my name! }

my writing process for this entry was anything but simple. extended essay on my process will be coming out soon! but for now, here’s the entry! and a friendly reminder- all my work is protected

“She Steals Surfboards by the Seashore. She’s a Sea Otter.”

It’s me. I’m Otter 841, popularly known as the surfboard stealer. I was born in captivity and currently hang 10’s in Santa Cruz. Most of my antics frequenting the media stem from human beings invading the one place I call home- the beach. I tend to get aggressive when my personal space is invaded, and when my natural habitat seems to no longer exist. 

Despite being trained to stay away from humans, I can’t help myself; it’s been ages since I’ve had proper contact with other living beings. I know that I’m being hunted by the authorities and it’s only days until I’ll be forced to live in captivity again. 

There’s also the possibility of euthanization. 

With less than 3000 otters left, our species is already on the decline. Is euthanizing our kind really the right choice? Just like the walrus in Norway that was killed, I might be next. The water is as much a home for us as it is for other creatures. 

From a human perspective, it is time for us to rethink our recreational pursuits and hangout spots to extricate an endangered species. It isn’t the otter that is the problem, it’s us. There’s something inherently fallacious about an otter serving precious time in captivity when it is the humans that are in her territory. Eradicating the otter from the gene pool shouldn’t be the best solution that we can come up with. We can do better and we should.

I firmly believe that this is the ocean telling us to get otter here.

and that’s it for my entry !!