I believe that having diversity is a very important thing. It is by far the most American idea. There is no one in America whose ancestry actually came from American except for Native-Americans. So to me this idea of diversity is a very healthy party of social and educational development. It’s social because it helps us learn how to accept others and learn from other cultures. It’s educational because each different society may have different views on things. By comparing opinions one can gain greater knowledge on the subject. Now onto the idea of stereotypes. I personally think that stereotypes should not be changed or ignored. Many people argue that they aren’t true, but in every observation I have had, it is very true. I know that EVERYONE doesn’t fit into each stereotype, but the whole reason the stereotype was created is because enough people expressed the traits that are included within them. I personally think that they can be very funny and if the stereotype is incorrect for your grouping, then it gives greater reason to laugh about it. However I have learned that the reason that they have become stereotypes is because they really are true, has anyone ever been to a Popeye’s or churches chicken, enough said. All I am trying to say is that people need to just laugh at these stereotypes instead of getting uptight or insulted by them.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Connecting with the World: Global Engagement
There are many advantages to become globally engaged. The best one that I can come upon with is learn from other misfortune and fixing it. Also if you are aware of the global issues, even if they don’t directly affect you, you can become a well rounded individual. If you are a sympathetic person then you might even be moved to take action and help others on a global scale. I am already pretty globally engaged. I watch the news all the time and I read the paper pretty much every morning. I went to a Jesuit school as well where they were always encouraging the awareness of issues that are going on in the world. I also travel out of the country a lot, especially to Mexico. My step mother is from Mexico, so we visit their family a lot, unfortunately they are very poor. I have seen firsthand what the poverty in developing countries is like, and it is very saddening. With this knowledge however I hope learn from the economic mistakes of other countries and applying the lessons into my own life. I do have a desire to help others, but later on when I hopefully have the money to help support agencies that try and fix these issues. I have always been taught that time is more valuable than money, but in order to fight poverty, one must have money to do so. Since I will most likely have the power to help others, I will hopefully choose to do so.
Taking Charge and Being Innovative: Entrepreneurship/Creativity
For me entrepreneurship doesn’t come easy. According to the survey that we all had to take I scored pretty high, but it doesn’t feel that way. Yes, I do have great ideas sometimes, but I never actually pursue them, and when I do I never finish the project. I think it is the fact that I lack passion. There are some cases when I am passionate about something and I get it done and I really enjoy it. However I am never pleased when it is done, which might be a good thing. If I were to become complacent with my achievements then they would have no value. The only way I can keep things valuable is to never be pleased with them. However if I don’t have passion for something, it never get completed and I sometimes regret not doing it. I do learn from my mistakes and failures however. For example I’m never going to save five weeks of work for the night before it is due, that was a really bad idea. I can assure you that I’m not going to let this happen again, and most likely will avoid classes like this in the future. I am currently having a hard time deciding what I should do as a career as well. Should I go the true entrepreneurial route and open my own restaurant that is most likely to fail based on statistics, or should I study the same field that my family has been involved in for years. It is a dilemma, but at least I have a plan, which is how an entrepreneur does things
Green Living: Sustainability
Sustainability is the study of how can we lessen our impact on the earth and help increase the quality of life for everyone. It focuses on the idea of reducing emissions or even getting rid of fossil fuels all together. It also focuses on doing things such as recycling and reducing the consumption of goods. It also deals with the idea of increasing the quality of life of the poor and tries to encourage their employers to increase their wages so they can support their families comfortably. To me this all sounds like a bunch of hippie nonsense. It could be because I’m an asshole, or that I take apathy to the highest degree, but I could care less about any of this stuff. In my opinion as long as we improve our technology to the point where food cloning and solar energy, there won’t be any problems at all. The aid won’t come from people preaching that we should consume less, why don’t we just produce more, and then everyone can get what they want. Even if it comes to the point where all our resources have been depleted, then by that time we will probably just move to a new one. I’m almost certain that once we find new life on other planets that resources won’t be an issue anyway. Also regardless all of this tuff won’t really work unless everyone participates, but all these things are so political that most corrupt and poor governments won’t listen to it.
Succeeding at ASU
Succeeding at ASU is very simple if you can learn to manage your time. It is best to make a schedule and plan out your life so that you can have an idea of your work load. Once you have finished this it will be a lot easier to figure out how much time is needed to study, socialize, and if necessary, work. It is a great idea to actually attend your classes and to pay attention. This will make studying a lot easier and will give you more free time. It is in your best interest to show up to class because it will pay off in the end. Taking notes is recommended, but not a necessity, let’s face it some classes can be so easy it’s a joke. Take the computer literacy class as an example. That class is the dumbest class, especially for someone like me who has used a computer since the age of 6. I have to try very little in this class but because of that it gives me more time to study. Bottom line it is always good to find balance.
