“Is everyone ready to go?” my mom asked us as we stared at her from the back seats. Since her car had gotten a flat tire a few days ago, the whole family would all have to drive to different places in my dad’s car. I lazily rubbed my tired eyes from having to wake up extra early. “First up, Meadows Elementary!” We drove to my sister’s school, then my mom’s office, and then my school. I stared out the classroom window thinking to myself, I wonder what our world would be like if we had upgraded modern cars that never get flat tires? That same day, I walked from the cafeteria to 3rd period when the air seemed smoky. “Was there another fire?” My friends complained. For the past few days, the air quality was in an unhealthy condition for sensitive people. In Millbrae, there was a week where students with sensitive conditions sat inside during P.E. due to the low air quality. I thought to myself as I walked through the hallway, how could our community help to reduce days like these?

As I carefully observed the road around me while I was driving to my dance studio, I developed a mental picture of how helpful it would be if our roads were filled with electric propulsion, self driving, multi purpose and magnetically levitated cars. Cars wouldn’t pollute the air with gas, drivers wouldn’t get flat tires on a daily basis, and humans wouldn’t be victims of road accidents. “Screech!” Right then, our car came to a sudden stop. It turns out there had been a car accident in the middle of the road, causing traffic which backed up to Broadway Ave. If we had self-driving cars controlled by AI, people wouldn’t be stuck in traffic due to accidents or late to important events. I groaned as I silently thought of everyone that would be late to their commitments. 

Besides the issues of cars, California has been in a couple severe droughts throughout the past few years mostly caused by our poor climate choices. There were signs on the streets of downtown that said to save water, farmers' crops were withering away, and deadly wildfires were hurting the community. In August of 2020, the August Complex fire burned down over 1 million acres of land all over Northern California. The droughts in California have reduced farm income as well as negatively impacted food processes and agricultural service sectors. If drought resistant crops became a ubiquitous technology, the droughts of California would not strike the economical and agricultural processes of the area.

Technically improved cars, drought resistant crops and other advanced technology are all things that would drastically help make the lives of my family and neighbors in this community easier. Having advanced cars would decrease the probability of road accidents while drought resistant crops would help the economy and agriculture thrive in harsh conditions. This is what I hope to see in my Bay Area someday.