This is my entry for the National Geographic #PlanetorPlastic contest. 

Diving in an ocean is never easy. It requires you to breathe through bubbles. You are allowing yourself to be emersed into a foreign substance, also known as water. Humans have always taken water for granted. They look through a lense of wants, not needs. Until you immerse yourself into the water only then do you realize how precious it is.  As that diver swam through the crystal liquid, they realized exactly how beautiful our water was. But now? Now our water is drowning. Our oceans are drowning in the trash that we feed it. 

We poison the clean waters, creating murky and terrifying black holes that no one will venture into. Even the marine life will not travel into the dangerous waters. The beautiful sea creatures such as clownfish and seahorses that live in the pristine salt water. Over 100 million sea creatures are killed because we aren't acknowledging what we throw into the ocean. 99% of the living space on Earth is in the ocean. The exotic coral reefs and the deep trenches will all be contaminated if we don't stop our treachery. The crisp, blue waters could soon be black. Black from oil that we spill. Black from the poison that we put into it. 

Let's view it from the eyes of a Leatherback sea turtle. Imagine that you live in the water. The ocean is your life source. It provides you with air, shelter, food, everything you need to survive. Then imagine a plastic bag floating up to you. That plastic bag resembles a jellyfish, doesn't it? You love jellyfish, they taste delicious! You slowly swim over to your prey, thinking about how tasty it is. Then, you chomp. As you swallow, you begin to suffocate. Soon, the turtle you just were is no longer living. It is the harsh reality of where plastic bags are going. That plastic bag resembles a jellyfish, but it is really a weapon. We are causing our wildlife to live in a dump. 

You shouldn't be diving in murky, treacherous waters. You should get to enjoy clean, sparkling water, just as the marine life should. Always choose your planet over plastic. After all, you wouldn't swim in a dump, so why let them? Why will we let them suffer when we hate seeing each other suffer. The only thing growing is the amount of trash. So let's grow accountable instead.