Greta Thunberg, the 17-year-old Swedish superstar, is getting even more access to our lives through her very own TV show which is coming soon to BBC. The show, which will be a documentary following the teenager as she faces the transition into adulthood, is just another way Thunberg is winning our hearts and minds in the fight against climate change and global warming. 

Ever since she hit the limelight, Greta Thunberg has not stopped going. I argue that her passion and her love of our planet is completely and utterly infectious, spreading throughout social media and anyone she comes across. At just 17, she has already taken on some giants in world politics, including President Donald Trump who she stood up to with ease and humour over Twitter. For those who don’t know, the President tweeted that Thunberg has ‘anger management issues’, claiming that in order to solve this she should ‘go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend’. In a move that was both witty and incredibly brave, Thunberg changed her twitter bio to: ‘a teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.’

How many teenagers would have the courage and humour to stand up to the President of the United States like that? Not many. However, this is what makes Thunberg so inspirational to all young people around the world. 

It is not often that teenagers and young adults get listened to. In fact, there aren’t many occasions at all where our opinion is actually taken into account. However, Thunberg has shown us that we can fight for our voices to be heard. She has provided an outlet for us all to raise our voices and tell the world that we will not inherit an Earth damaged by our elders. By creating a TV show focused on her life, Thunberg is becoming all the more relatable to young people, strengthening our voices like never before. Thunberg herself has addressed the importance of young people’s voices. In an interview, she told the BBC that global leaders who don’t believe in climate change are actually ‘terrified of young people bringing change which they don’t want’. Her words resonate with us all. 

This TV show will be a breath of fresh air. So far, the BBC have said that they’ll follow Thunberg around the world as she meets scientists, world leaders and other activists as well as visiting some of the places most threatened by a warming planet. She’ll also be exploring some of the options we could be taking in order to limit our impact on the planet as much as possible. Perhaps the most exciting parts of the documentary will take place in the moments where the world isn’t watching. We’ll get an inside view on just how Thunberg writes the speeches that touch the hearts of the world, and just how she copes with all the attention as she makes her way from childhood to adulthood in spectacular fashion. As we all know, becoming an adult is hard enough but imagine doing it while making headlines?

Although there is no set date as of yet for when the documentary is to be released, it is safe to say that we all should be excited. A look into the life of a teenage activist is something we all should take inspiration from. As well as Greta has done, she can’t do it alone. We all need to back her up and, with enough pressure in the right places, there is a good possibility that we can slow global warming down enough to save our planet. One thing is clear: the next few decades are going to be make or break for us as humans. We are nearing the threshold for how much damage the planet can take. Greta Thunberg’s optimism and courage is what we need to put a stop to it. Her TV show could be the start to reaching out to everyone, to convince them all that only together can we solve the problem.  

She kick-started this fight, so let’s all join her. 

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