My favorite thing about this weeks reading was the take it took on the concept of creativity and all that makes it up. The different forms of creativity that different people exhibit mastery in more than others was what surprised me the most. It was fascinating to have someone finally explain why that is because for so long I too have wondered if there's a reason as to why I feel a lot more creative and free when it comes to the art of dancing and writing over visual arts. Two friends of mine which I hold dear to my heart are probably one of the most creative artistic beings I've ever met and I know that every time I tried to really dive into sketching or painting I would almost always end up writing or drawing out a word. This was what I loved the most about the chapter was that it emphasized the differences in arts and talents which connects back to this class. This surprised me as it really did connect back to the class because it emphasizes how different people have different skills which can all be helpful and identified in order to use them for future entrepreneurial opportunities.
As a sociology and psychology double major I especially appreciated the part that spoke about left and right brain analysis as a perspective on creativity. Also it's always exciting to have different subjects studied connect and in entrepreneurship so far I've been able to incorporate both sociology and a little bit of business but now also psychology. I didn't really find anything confusing or anything that I would've left out from what the author was writing as I felt it was all really informative and a cool way of reading about entrepreneurship. If there were any two things I would want to ask the author it would be:
1. Do you think there will ever be a time in the future where we'll be able to use the maximum potential of our human brain? Imagine all of the products us as humans would be able to think of and actually create with the advances in technology.
2. Could creative exercises themselves be seen as entrepreneurial opportunities in order to create exercises for people with disabilities?
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Top 5 World Problems
Hello again,
If you haven't already make sure to check out the blog post titled "World Biggest Problems" in order for you to relate back to everything below or so that you can at least get to see the other 5 of the world's biggest problems. Also I truly feel all 10 were very serious so doing this was pretty hard.
Rank-Ordering the World's Biggest problems: (Most to Least serious)
1. War and Terrorism
2. Human Trafficking
3. Rape culture
4. Poverty
5. Racism
Rank-Ordering the Solutions: (Most possible to Least possible to Implement)
1. Poverty
2. Racism
3. Human Trafficking
4. Rape culture
5. War and Terrorism
Justification of World's Top 5 Biggest Problems:
As a sociology major it might not be a surprise that each and everyone of the problem's I chose had to do with culture and human behavior that involves major defect. Let it not be confused however that just because I didn't chose global warming and water crisis or economic collapse and healthcare does not mean that I view any of them less serious. However, I do feel that the most serious issues have to do with matters relating to disrespecting human life and basic human rights. Each one of these problems emphatically disrespects and invades on the basic rights of a person and human life. War and terrorism, human trafficking and rape culture majorly minimize the value of human life to a point where its almost disgusting. As corny as it might sound, it truly disrupts the balance of nature as it literally strips society of the basic human rights to freedom, peace and tranquility. This also happens in poverty and racism alike minimizing people to certain classes or races making it even harder to live in peace cross culturally and globally.
Justification of the Most to the Least possible solutions to Implement:
This was definitely the hardest part because each of these awful problems have solutions but even those solutions require generations worth of education and effort. The reason I put poverty as the easiest of all issues to solve is because I highly doubt there isn't enough money in the world for everyone on this planet. I feel that due to social discourse and social class we have poverty thanks to the 1% of power which practically owns everything. My point here is, there's no way there isn't enough money in the world for everyone to live with the basic needs. The reason I put racism as the 2nd most easy to implement is because I truly feel that future generations will be a lot more accepting of differences in race and color among gender and even sexuality alike. Human trafficking and rape culture were equality just as difficult for me to rank because I felt they were both horrible issues and I feel like none of them could really ever be solved. The only thing that made rape harder to solve in the end for me was because sometimes Rape tends to have a mental side of it where the rapist may just be a really sick person in the head. This psychological issue sometime is just something that person is born with and therefore it is a lot more difficult to attempt to control for such a variable when coming up with a solution to implement for this problem. War and terrorism I feel is least possible solution to implement because like racism, war and terrorism has existed since the very beginning of time. If it wasn't with human nature and survival of the fittest then it was with other societies and cultures. War and terrorism is a deeply embedded act that may even be laced with a sense of pride to admit that one might be wrong or to just accept that there are much better ways of solving global issues.
If you haven't already make sure to check out the blog post titled "World Biggest Problems" in order for you to relate back to everything below or so that you can at least get to see the other 5 of the world's biggest problems. Also I truly feel all 10 were very serious so doing this was pretty hard.
Rank-Ordering the World's Biggest problems: (Most to Least serious)
1. War and Terrorism
2. Human Trafficking
3. Rape culture
4. Poverty
5. Racism
Rank-Ordering the Solutions: (Most possible to Least possible to Implement)
1. Poverty
2. Racism
3. Human Trafficking
4. Rape culture
5. War and Terrorism
Justification of World's Top 5 Biggest Problems:
As a sociology major it might not be a surprise that each and everyone of the problem's I chose had to do with culture and human behavior that involves major defect. Let it not be confused however that just because I didn't chose global warming and water crisis or economic collapse and healthcare does not mean that I view any of them less serious. However, I do feel that the most serious issues have to do with matters relating to disrespecting human life and basic human rights. Each one of these problems emphatically disrespects and invades on the basic rights of a person and human life. War and terrorism, human trafficking and rape culture majorly minimize the value of human life to a point where its almost disgusting. As corny as it might sound, it truly disrupts the balance of nature as it literally strips society of the basic human rights to freedom, peace and tranquility. This also happens in poverty and racism alike minimizing people to certain classes or races making it even harder to live in peace cross culturally and globally.
Justification of the Most to the Least possible solutions to Implement:
This was definitely the hardest part because each of these awful problems have solutions but even those solutions require generations worth of education and effort. The reason I put poverty as the easiest of all issues to solve is because I highly doubt there isn't enough money in the world for everyone on this planet. I feel that due to social discourse and social class we have poverty thanks to the 1% of power which practically owns everything. My point here is, there's no way there isn't enough money in the world for everyone to live with the basic needs. The reason I put racism as the 2nd most easy to implement is because I truly feel that future generations will be a lot more accepting of differences in race and color among gender and even sexuality alike. Human trafficking and rape culture were equality just as difficult for me to rank because I felt they were both horrible issues and I feel like none of them could really ever be solved. The only thing that made rape harder to solve in the end for me was because sometimes Rape tends to have a mental side of it where the rapist may just be a really sick person in the head. This psychological issue sometime is just something that person is born with and therefore it is a lot more difficult to attempt to control for such a variable when coming up with a solution to implement for this problem. War and terrorism I feel is least possible solution to implement because like racism, war and terrorism has existed since the very beginning of time. If it wasn't with human nature and survival of the fittest then it was with other societies and cultures. War and terrorism is a deeply embedded act that may even be laced with a sense of pride to admit that one might be wrong or to just accept that there are much better ways of solving global issues.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Week 3 Reading Reflection
This chapter focused on the representative traits and characteristics that a true entrepreneur embodies similar to entrepreneurs mantra and spirit previously discussed. The most eye-opening and even moving thing about this chapter was essentially the mention of the "Dark side" of entrepreneurship. Similar to the connotation of the word "dark" the dark side was explained as the major factors and variables that are potentially put at risk when living the life style of an entrepreneur. If you've ever heard of the saying "you have to fail your way to success" then you have a basic idea of the Dark side. The interesting part about this chapter is how it goes in depth about the potential domino effect that any new idea, plan and creation of a product could cause. There are many different things at stake from money, time and even family stability (in different aspects) this however was also something that confused me because I bet I would feel extremely conflicted about having to take such crazy risks.
Another interesting and very true thing this chapter touched base on was the mention of a comfort zone in many people's careers. As a sociologist I love looking into any sort of social activity and it is true that often times many people resort to mundane routines and the comfort of stable jobs over going out and chasing their dreams for the sake of benefits of stability and on the business side, for potential investors.
Something I really appreciated about the chapter was also about how it mentioned how to communicate and ensure effective work from any employers which starts with dealing with stress and being able to communicate anything in an efficient way. I find that any and all hard working people also need and deserve time and space to recharge their batteries and this chapter did a good job of touching on those issues. I think I would potentially ask the author if they ever knew of any story of an entrepreneur that never managed to ever arrive to success because it really is a scary possibility. I
Another interesting and very true thing this chapter touched base on was the mention of a comfort zone in many people's careers. As a sociologist I love looking into any sort of social activity and it is true that often times many people resort to mundane routines and the comfort of stable jobs over going out and chasing their dreams for the sake of benefits of stability and on the business side, for potential investors.
Something I really appreciated about the chapter was also about how it mentioned how to communicate and ensure effective work from any employers which starts with dealing with stress and being able to communicate anything in an efficient way. I find that any and all hard working people also need and deserve time and space to recharge their batteries and this chapter did a good job of touching on those issues. I think I would potentially ask the author if they ever knew of any story of an entrepreneur that never managed to ever arrive to success because it really is a scary possibility. I
Identifying Local Opportunities
Articles
1. Pre-Diabetes Prevention
http://www.miamiherald.com/advertise/sponsored_content/?prx_t=GPMBAXtAEAHicKA
This article is mainly an advertisement to promote awareness on pre-diabetes. According to the article, more than 1/3 of the United States' population has prediabetes and will suffer of this condition if certain changes in dieting and exercise are implemented. Apparently the U.S Preventive Services Task Force is wanting everyone over the age of 45 to begin pre-screening for the types of diabetes specifically focusing on blood sugar. This proposal has yet to go through the task force to finalize it's implementation. I find that this is a problem that clearly already has a solution and plan created. The plan starts with what Baptist Health of South Florida has in mind and it's simple and easy to get started.
2. Florida Legislature Pondering Move to school Districts by City
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article56148045.html
According to this article, Florida's constitution is composed of countywide school districts and the only way that could be changed is if superintendents decide to join together. Several representatives and even the senator have gotten involved to try to debate the potential shift from countywide to citywide districts. The problem people such as locals, students of all ages are fearing is about all the administrative costs even though the solution it would provide is that it will give the local community more of a voice in their neighborhood schools. I think that anything that could potentially help increase the quality of public schools and education is a good enough reason to try to make some changes. A potential solution would be to have a year-long trial at it before making some major investments.
3. Single Family home prices soar in Broward County
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article56091840.html
This article really caught my eye because it talked about the housing market which honestly should interest many college students seeing as one college is over we'll be grown adults and hopefully expected to find our own places. The main problem this article talks about is that way more single family homes were sold in this past December compared to condos in Broward county. A normal market usually has between 6 to 9 months worth of supply on either of the two options but in this past December there were only 4 months worth of supply for single-family homes. This is a major issue that home-buyers of today, future generations and potentially all the residents of all of Florida are dealing with seeing as those number imply that the prices for such homes will only continue to rise in order to compensate for the limited inventory.
4. 5 ways to fit mentorship into your work life balance.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/worklifebalancingact/2016/01/5-ways-to-fit-mentorship-into-your-work-life-balance.html
This article wasn't exactly informing the local community of Miami about a problem but rather it was promoting the importance of mentorship and really getting involved in one's own community. Even though the perspective from which the article was written in was a rather positive, motivational one, the fact that an article has to be written on it to promote this hints at the fact that maybe in that community people could be putting it more time and effort. Anything for improvement right? This article is aimed at people having this problem such as busy adults of Miami, this is reflected when the article states, " Growing up in South Florida, I'm the first to admit that we tend to be self absorbed in the Sunshine State. We also consider ourselves very busy people with little time or money to donate to help others. " A solution to this would be to investigate any kind of mentorship opportunities in your local community and get involved to start mentoring the kids of today which are the shapes of our world tomorrow.
5. Florida Lead U.S in new HIV cases after years of cuts in public health.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article56192770.html
This article was definitely the scariest and most impacting one found from the Miami herald mostly because I had no idea about all of the facts provided. According to the article Miami-Dade (which is also my home) is now the No.1 in U.S in new HIV infections as a result of consecutive annual cuts in public health. This major crisis is not being properly dealt with and the people who have this problem or are at risk are all Floridians. The good news is that thanks to a $34 million federal grant, HIV and aids prevention is now being put in place.
1. Pre-Diabetes Prevention
http://www.miamiherald.com/advertise/sponsored_content/?prx_t=GPMBAXtAEAHicKA
This article is mainly an advertisement to promote awareness on pre-diabetes. According to the article, more than 1/3 of the United States' population has prediabetes and will suffer of this condition if certain changes in dieting and exercise are implemented. Apparently the U.S Preventive Services Task Force is wanting everyone over the age of 45 to begin pre-screening for the types of diabetes specifically focusing on blood sugar. This proposal has yet to go through the task force to finalize it's implementation. I find that this is a problem that clearly already has a solution and plan created. The plan starts with what Baptist Health of South Florida has in mind and it's simple and easy to get started.
2. Florida Legislature Pondering Move to school Districts by City
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article56148045.html
According to this article, Florida's constitution is composed of countywide school districts and the only way that could be changed is if superintendents decide to join together. Several representatives and even the senator have gotten involved to try to debate the potential shift from countywide to citywide districts. The problem people such as locals, students of all ages are fearing is about all the administrative costs even though the solution it would provide is that it will give the local community more of a voice in their neighborhood schools. I think that anything that could potentially help increase the quality of public schools and education is a good enough reason to try to make some changes. A potential solution would be to have a year-long trial at it before making some major investments.
3. Single Family home prices soar in Broward County
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article56091840.html
This article really caught my eye because it talked about the housing market which honestly should interest many college students seeing as one college is over we'll be grown adults and hopefully expected to find our own places. The main problem this article talks about is that way more single family homes were sold in this past December compared to condos in Broward county. A normal market usually has between 6 to 9 months worth of supply on either of the two options but in this past December there were only 4 months worth of supply for single-family homes. This is a major issue that home-buyers of today, future generations and potentially all the residents of all of Florida are dealing with seeing as those number imply that the prices for such homes will only continue to rise in order to compensate for the limited inventory.
4. 5 ways to fit mentorship into your work life balance.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/worklifebalancingact/2016/01/5-ways-to-fit-mentorship-into-your-work-life-balance.html
This article wasn't exactly informing the local community of Miami about a problem but rather it was promoting the importance of mentorship and really getting involved in one's own community. Even though the perspective from which the article was written in was a rather positive, motivational one, the fact that an article has to be written on it to promote this hints at the fact that maybe in that community people could be putting it more time and effort. Anything for improvement right? This article is aimed at people having this problem such as busy adults of Miami, this is reflected when the article states, " Growing up in South Florida, I'm the first to admit that we tend to be self absorbed in the Sunshine State. We also consider ourselves very busy people with little time or money to donate to help others. " A solution to this would be to investigate any kind of mentorship opportunities in your local community and get involved to start mentoring the kids of today which are the shapes of our world tomorrow.
5. Florida Lead U.S in new HIV cases after years of cuts in public health.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article56192770.html
This article was definitely the scariest and most impacting one found from the Miami herald mostly because I had no idea about all of the facts provided. According to the article Miami-Dade (which is also my home) is now the No.1 in U.S in new HIV infections as a result of consecutive annual cuts in public health. This major crisis is not being properly dealt with and the people who have this problem or are at risk are all Floridians. The good news is that thanks to a $34 million federal grant, HIV and aids prevention is now being put in place.
Friday, January 22, 2016
Very Short Interview No. 1
The entrepreneur I decided to interview was Fabiola Lema, the entrepreneur and owner of the successful restaurant known as "Macita's". This is known as "la cocina de la abuela" which is translated as grandma's kitchen offering the best of Colombian cuisine and baked goods. Macita's exhibits the entrepreneurial spirit by the way she opened her very own restaurant, after immigrating from Colombia to Miami.
Q: What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?
Fabiola: "What it means to be an entrepreneur is to consistently work on perfecting what you have to offer to an audience. It consists of taking care of a business as if it were your own baby. That being said, it is in fact a family business and like any entrepreneur, creating new jobs for people is ideal even if it's for family as well. Entrepreneurial spirit consists of looking beyond the here and now in order to see how far you can take your business. It requires perserverance, determination, and dedication."
Q: What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course?
Fabiola: "What you should take from this course is to regularly think outside of the box and learn to identify a problem so that you can create a solution or innovative ways to attend to the needs of your audience. "
Q: What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur?
Fabiola: "I never went to school but I would've loved to learn more about business theory, however, if there is one thing that I would like to stress for anyone who is searching to be a successful entrepreneur is that you shouldn't let anything limit your desire to make something happen, especially not a degree."
Reflection: What was very interesting to me about interviewing Fabiola was not only her entrepreneurial spirit but also her selflessness. Something I admire about the way she runs her business is that she offers job opportunities to family members and to people she feels are truly struggling. She's definitely both a business woman with a motherly touch. This is reflected by the way the restaurant is named "Macita" which is what her grandchildren would refer to her instead of saying "mamita" which comes from the word mother/ grandma. Another thing I noticed was how much love and passion she felt for her restaurant, so much so that to her its a sort of safe haven that she visits almost everyday. If there's something I learned from this interview is that entrepreneurs truly fall in love with their creation and are extremely passionate about moving it forward by any means.
Q: What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?
Fabiola: "What it means to be an entrepreneur is to consistently work on perfecting what you have to offer to an audience. It consists of taking care of a business as if it were your own baby. That being said, it is in fact a family business and like any entrepreneur, creating new jobs for people is ideal even if it's for family as well. Entrepreneurial spirit consists of looking beyond the here and now in order to see how far you can take your business. It requires perserverance, determination, and dedication."
Q: What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course?
Fabiola: "What you should take from this course is to regularly think outside of the box and learn to identify a problem so that you can create a solution or innovative ways to attend to the needs of your audience. "
Q: What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur?
Fabiola: "I never went to school but I would've loved to learn more about business theory, however, if there is one thing that I would like to stress for anyone who is searching to be a successful entrepreneur is that you shouldn't let anything limit your desire to make something happen, especially not a degree."
Reflection: What was very interesting to me about interviewing Fabiola was not only her entrepreneurial spirit but also her selflessness. Something I admire about the way she runs her business is that she offers job opportunities to family members and to people she feels are truly struggling. She's definitely both a business woman with a motherly touch. This is reflected by the way the restaurant is named "Macita" which is what her grandchildren would refer to her instead of saying "mamita" which comes from the word mother/ grandma. Another thing I noticed was how much love and passion she felt for her restaurant, so much so that to her its a sort of safe haven that she visits almost everyday. If there's something I learned from this interview is that entrepreneurs truly fall in love with their creation and are extremely passionate about moving it forward by any means.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
World's Biggest Problems
Here are a few examples of what I consider to be some of the world's biggest tragic problems. Just to mention they're aren't in any kind of order as I feel all are equally troubling.
1. Racism
This problem is something that has existed since the beginning of time and today continues to surround us. The world is filled with hate, anger and even resent across cultures and religions going beyond the differences in skin color. It's absolutely disheartening to think that even now in the 21st century, racism is something so prevalent and seen in our everyday lives all over the media. I like to believe that future generations will do a better job at embracing each other's differences without segregation in the background. Fully respecting a human being for their human life rather than their skin color is the solution to this awful issue.
2. Rape Culture
I'm a sociology major and the current sociology course I'm taking is sexual violence. On a side note I would definitely recommend it to everyone, it's so incredibly interesting and truly eye-opening. Anyways rape culture as defined in my class is "cultural practices that influence, encourage, promote and tolerate rape". I have now learned that sexual violence is something that as a global society we haven't even begun to surface what it truly is, means and the social implications it carries. I'm not sure that there will ever be a solution to stop rape culture but the way we educate our children about sex and sexual violence is definitely a start. Also we need to accept that anything that isn't consensual sex is rape. No doesn't mean yes and a victim is a victim.
3. Poverty
So many countries live in impoverished conditions with a lack of basic needs such as shelter, food or even water. In third world countries and in certain places of Africa contains a plethora of children that never even see the age of 3 due to malnutrition. Poverty is a world problem that as a global community we must be urgent about in fixing. Absolutely every human has the basic human right of living a life with the most basic needs. A good start would be getting involved with NGO's such as un Techo Para Mi Pais which is a community service club I was a part of in my high school in Lima, Peru. Every year we would fundraise for an annual build where a group of 4-6 students and one group leader would build a house for a lucky family. Little by little TECHO is aiming at mitigating poverty in places all over the world and is a perfect example of a starting point.
4. Gender Inequality
Again, as a sociology major, gender inequality and the roots of it are something that truly strike out to me. In a sociology course we even analyzed the subject of "ambivalent sexism" and the potential role of chivalry in something as tragic as rape. Aside from that gender inequality is prevalent in many of the world's societies today where women are still denied their basic human rights to living full happy lives from female genital mutilation to forbidding women from attending schools. As a global community we have to accept the progression we've made as a species and allow each and every person, man or woman the right to shapes their lives through all forms of education and equal opportunities.
5. Human trafficking
Human trafficking is a tragic world problem. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime human trafficking website, it is defined as, "Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs".
A solution to this would be of the utmost value as it truly is something so difficult to control. I would say it all starts with the education of the future generations in respecting human life and understanding ethics and moral obligation. As the philosopher Kantian believed, a person should always be treated as an end and never as a means.
6. Global warming Climate change
Global warming and climate change is a really big problem that the entire world's population is facing and also experiencing almost everyday. It involves the rise in temperature of the Earth's average climate causing radical changes in climate to both extremes of weather's spectrum. As a global community we truly need to begin to promote and genuinely live an Eco-friendly & Green life from all our tools we use cross-culturally and industrially.
7. War & Terrorism
War and Terrorism has become such a prevalent theme in our daily lives and local newscasts. It is the saddest "solution" to any problem and involves the stripping of freedom, right to safety our comfort and even from our homes (for soldiers). Murder, brutality, bombing, suicide bombing are all examples of awful things that war and terrorism bring to the world. As a global community we all need to learn to value and respect human life and understand that through education and communication equally strong and timeless messages can be expressed just as powerfully.
8. Lack of Healthcare in Third World Countries
As a person who has lived in Quito, Ecuador and Lima, Peru; I have seen some pretty low quality health facilities that I personally would be absolutely horrified to ever walk into. I don't know if the lack of organization and quality was even the worst part or if the thought that people who live in poverty had no other option other than what was offered when it came to healthcare. So many fatal diseases and infections are all over third world countries and a solution to this would be to have some of the best medical education systems to branch off into third world countries to aide and teach people giving hem the equal opportunities of learning about modern medicine.
9. Economic collapse
Economic collapse and instability is a major panic that the global community faces. With the lack of stability in such an essential pillar of social movement, the world will never feel at peace or even economically safe. In order for everyone to enjoy their lives from a baby to the elder age everyone must try to get an education of some sort. People should follow their dreams and create beginning with entrepreneurial thinking to be able to create something that requires hiring people which in turn provides more jobs for people of the world. Entrepreneurship should be something that should be implemented in education and curriculum's worldwide.
10. Global water crisis
With the world's population rapidly increasing, industrial and agricultural needs have had to increase the use of water thus decreasing our water supply on Earth. I personally drink up to 8 bottles of water a day and my first word was even "agua" which is spanish for water. Similarly to global warming and climate change, we must all begin to truly live Eco-friendly lives and conserve what we have now for future generations.
1. Racism
This problem is something that has existed since the beginning of time and today continues to surround us. The world is filled with hate, anger and even resent across cultures and religions going beyond the differences in skin color. It's absolutely disheartening to think that even now in the 21st century, racism is something so prevalent and seen in our everyday lives all over the media. I like to believe that future generations will do a better job at embracing each other's differences without segregation in the background. Fully respecting a human being for their human life rather than their skin color is the solution to this awful issue.
2. Rape Culture
I'm a sociology major and the current sociology course I'm taking is sexual violence. On a side note I would definitely recommend it to everyone, it's so incredibly interesting and truly eye-opening. Anyways rape culture as defined in my class is "cultural practices that influence, encourage, promote and tolerate rape". I have now learned that sexual violence is something that as a global society we haven't even begun to surface what it truly is, means and the social implications it carries. I'm not sure that there will ever be a solution to stop rape culture but the way we educate our children about sex and sexual violence is definitely a start. Also we need to accept that anything that isn't consensual sex is rape. No doesn't mean yes and a victim is a victim.
3. Poverty
So many countries live in impoverished conditions with a lack of basic needs such as shelter, food or even water. In third world countries and in certain places of Africa contains a plethora of children that never even see the age of 3 due to malnutrition. Poverty is a world problem that as a global community we must be urgent about in fixing. Absolutely every human has the basic human right of living a life with the most basic needs. A good start would be getting involved with NGO's such as un Techo Para Mi Pais which is a community service club I was a part of in my high school in Lima, Peru. Every year we would fundraise for an annual build where a group of 4-6 students and one group leader would build a house for a lucky family. Little by little TECHO is aiming at mitigating poverty in places all over the world and is a perfect example of a starting point.
4. Gender Inequality
Again, as a sociology major, gender inequality and the roots of it are something that truly strike out to me. In a sociology course we even analyzed the subject of "ambivalent sexism" and the potential role of chivalry in something as tragic as rape. Aside from that gender inequality is prevalent in many of the world's societies today where women are still denied their basic human rights to living full happy lives from female genital mutilation to forbidding women from attending schools. As a global community we have to accept the progression we've made as a species and allow each and every person, man or woman the right to shapes their lives through all forms of education and equal opportunities.
5. Human trafficking
Human trafficking is a tragic world problem. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime human trafficking website, it is defined as, "Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs".
A solution to this would be of the utmost value as it truly is something so difficult to control. I would say it all starts with the education of the future generations in respecting human life and understanding ethics and moral obligation. As the philosopher Kantian believed, a person should always be treated as an end and never as a means.
6. Global warming Climate change
Global warming and climate change is a really big problem that the entire world's population is facing and also experiencing almost everyday. It involves the rise in temperature of the Earth's average climate causing radical changes in climate to both extremes of weather's spectrum. As a global community we truly need to begin to promote and genuinely live an Eco-friendly & Green life from all our tools we use cross-culturally and industrially.
7. War & Terrorism
War and Terrorism has become such a prevalent theme in our daily lives and local newscasts. It is the saddest "solution" to any problem and involves the stripping of freedom, right to safety our comfort and even from our homes (for soldiers). Murder, brutality, bombing, suicide bombing are all examples of awful things that war and terrorism bring to the world. As a global community we all need to learn to value and respect human life and understand that through education and communication equally strong and timeless messages can be expressed just as powerfully.
8. Lack of Healthcare in Third World Countries
As a person who has lived in Quito, Ecuador and Lima, Peru; I have seen some pretty low quality health facilities that I personally would be absolutely horrified to ever walk into. I don't know if the lack of organization and quality was even the worst part or if the thought that people who live in poverty had no other option other than what was offered when it came to healthcare. So many fatal diseases and infections are all over third world countries and a solution to this would be to have some of the best medical education systems to branch off into third world countries to aide and teach people giving hem the equal opportunities of learning about modern medicine.
9. Economic collapse
Economic collapse and instability is a major panic that the global community faces. With the lack of stability in such an essential pillar of social movement, the world will never feel at peace or even economically safe. In order for everyone to enjoy their lives from a baby to the elder age everyone must try to get an education of some sort. People should follow their dreams and create beginning with entrepreneurial thinking to be able to create something that requires hiring people which in turn provides more jobs for people of the world. Entrepreneurship should be something that should be implemented in education and curriculum's worldwide.
10. Global water crisis
With the world's population rapidly increasing, industrial and agricultural needs have had to increase the use of water thus decreasing our water supply on Earth. I personally drink up to 8 bottles of water a day and my first word was even "agua" which is spanish for water. Similarly to global warming and climate change, we must all begin to truly live Eco-friendly lives and conserve what we have now for future generations.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Bug List
Hello again,
so I don't know about you but I'm sure we all have several things that can really bother us sometimes. Whether it be something as trivial as the hairspray cap that falls off and pretty much ends all chances of you ever using the bottle again or the slow person walking in front of you almost always when you're actually in a hurry, the list never ends and here are some examples.
Bug List:
1. People who chew with their mouths open
Why anyone would ever do that? I have no idea.
2. People who walk slow in front of you
I tend to be very busy and always have somewhere to be so having someone walking slow in front of me can drive me a little crazy.
3. When a straw tears
I don't know about you but anytime I'm driving while I'm drinking my iced coffee sometimes out of nowhere my coffee just won't flow upward as easy as it should. A lot of the time it's almost always cause of a tear in the straw.
4. Fast food restaurant paper bags that never fail to let grease seep through.
I can't even count how many times that infamous dark spot of grease has seeped through paper bags from places like McDonald's to Burger King and Wendy's. It's possible that maybe the fast food industry won't invest in better material for a to-go bag because paper is probably cheaper. Or maybe it's just something to annoy people out of eating fast food, we all know we could avoid it sometimes.
5. Hairspray can and moose bottles
One thing that frustrates me the most is how that tiny little part of either of the bottles where you push your finger down to let the product out practically defines the success or failure of its usage. I can't tell you how many times that part has fallen off on me and then it gets in the way of me using the entire bottle at all so I basically end up wasting all of it.
6. When chopsticks don't break evenly
Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite food is sushi and I'm completely obsessed! However, the most annoying thing to me is when I can't get the chopsticks to break off of each other evenly. In Asia their chopsticks equal our American spoons, forks and knives and they're all metal. Maybe companies here in the U.S. should invest in some.
7. Smelly dish washing sponges
I don't know what other materials sponges could potentially be made of but I hate how no matter what, they always end up smelling bad. They end up smelling like wet clothes forgotten in the washer for too long.
8. Food on planes
I always feel ripped off on planes. The meals are always the size of your palm and the side salad always tastes like plastic. This is probably like that to save airline companies money but it's not always the best quality.
9. The annoying and inconvenience I have to go through to open ketchup and mayonnaise packets from fast food restaurants with my teeth which cause the sauce to get everywhere.
I'm sure they exist in that strong plastic to make sure it doesn't get everywhere but every time I have to open it with my teeth the force inevitably squirts it everywhere making a mess.
10. When people leave empty cartons of milk in the refrigerator.
Some people can just be really lazy sometimes.
11. When my hair tie breaks.
Personally I feel that the material used for hair tie is far from weak and I don't think anything is wrong with them. I think its super smart to have a layer over a thick rubber band as to avoid the rubber band from ripping your hair off but sometimes they come to a devastating end.
12. When powdered make-up breaks into 1000 pieces
There's a reason it's called powdered make-up or setting powder but sometimes it can ruin the inside of your perfect, not to mention brand new purse.
13. When your Iphone charger breaks.
This is definitely a product that Apple needs to recreate. I haven't met a single person who hasn't spent a significant amount of money just on the iphone charger. I know I'm probably on my 5th. Sometimes I think they're made the way they are to ensure that they'll eventually break and require people to spend money on a new one.
14. Advertisements on Youtube
Nothing get's under my skin more than having to wait for a 10-25 seconds long video just to be able to get to watch my own. I'm sure this exists for all purposes concerning marketing but it can be rather irritating and highly inconvenient.
15. Messed up wheels on shopping karts
Sometimes the wheels on shopping karts get nasty stuff stuck in it which causes them not to turn as smoothly as they should.
16. When an Iphone's auto correct doesn't work.
I'm sure auto correct exists to make texting easier and more efficient but sometimes it jumps to the wrong conclusions.
17. When your phone screen still gets cracked even with a case on it.
The case exists to protect your phone from landing on certain angles that will cause the screen to shatter.
18. When a microwave only heats up certain parts of your meal but not the entire meal.
Maybe this happens due to the container in which the meal is placed. Perhaps the radiation concentrates itself on heating the plastic container itself rather than the actual food.
19. When people don't cover their cough or sneeze
I don't think I'm a germophobe but something about germs being shot out into the air across the room really grosses me out.
20. When people have loud phone conversations in public
I just find it annoying or inconsiderate and I know they mean no harm but still, could you please quiet down.
To be entirely honest, coming up with this list was a lot more difficult than I expected. Perhaps its because I've never really trained myself to look beyond the products or services I use.
so I don't know about you but I'm sure we all have several things that can really bother us sometimes. Whether it be something as trivial as the hairspray cap that falls off and pretty much ends all chances of you ever using the bottle again or the slow person walking in front of you almost always when you're actually in a hurry, the list never ends and here are some examples.
Bug List:
1. People who chew with their mouths open
Why anyone would ever do that? I have no idea.
2. People who walk slow in front of you
I tend to be very busy and always have somewhere to be so having someone walking slow in front of me can drive me a little crazy.
3. When a straw tears
I don't know about you but anytime I'm driving while I'm drinking my iced coffee sometimes out of nowhere my coffee just won't flow upward as easy as it should. A lot of the time it's almost always cause of a tear in the straw.
4. Fast food restaurant paper bags that never fail to let grease seep through.
I can't even count how many times that infamous dark spot of grease has seeped through paper bags from places like McDonald's to Burger King and Wendy's. It's possible that maybe the fast food industry won't invest in better material for a to-go bag because paper is probably cheaper. Or maybe it's just something to annoy people out of eating fast food, we all know we could avoid it sometimes.
5. Hairspray can and moose bottles
One thing that frustrates me the most is how that tiny little part of either of the bottles where you push your finger down to let the product out practically defines the success or failure of its usage. I can't tell you how many times that part has fallen off on me and then it gets in the way of me using the entire bottle at all so I basically end up wasting all of it.
6. When chopsticks don't break evenly
Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite food is sushi and I'm completely obsessed! However, the most annoying thing to me is when I can't get the chopsticks to break off of each other evenly. In Asia their chopsticks equal our American spoons, forks and knives and they're all metal. Maybe companies here in the U.S. should invest in some.
7. Smelly dish washing sponges
I don't know what other materials sponges could potentially be made of but I hate how no matter what, they always end up smelling bad. They end up smelling like wet clothes forgotten in the washer for too long.
8. Food on planes
I always feel ripped off on planes. The meals are always the size of your palm and the side salad always tastes like plastic. This is probably like that to save airline companies money but it's not always the best quality.
9. The annoying and inconvenience I have to go through to open ketchup and mayonnaise packets from fast food restaurants with my teeth which cause the sauce to get everywhere.
I'm sure they exist in that strong plastic to make sure it doesn't get everywhere but every time I have to open it with my teeth the force inevitably squirts it everywhere making a mess.
10. When people leave empty cartons of milk in the refrigerator.
Some people can just be really lazy sometimes.
11. When my hair tie breaks.
Personally I feel that the material used for hair tie is far from weak and I don't think anything is wrong with them. I think its super smart to have a layer over a thick rubber band as to avoid the rubber band from ripping your hair off but sometimes they come to a devastating end.
12. When powdered make-up breaks into 1000 pieces
There's a reason it's called powdered make-up or setting powder but sometimes it can ruin the inside of your perfect, not to mention brand new purse.
13. When your Iphone charger breaks.
This is definitely a product that Apple needs to recreate. I haven't met a single person who hasn't spent a significant amount of money just on the iphone charger. I know I'm probably on my 5th. Sometimes I think they're made the way they are to ensure that they'll eventually break and require people to spend money on a new one.
14. Advertisements on Youtube
Nothing get's under my skin more than having to wait for a 10-25 seconds long video just to be able to get to watch my own. I'm sure this exists for all purposes concerning marketing but it can be rather irritating and highly inconvenient.
15. Messed up wheels on shopping karts
Sometimes the wheels on shopping karts get nasty stuff stuck in it which causes them not to turn as smoothly as they should.
16. When an Iphone's auto correct doesn't work.
I'm sure auto correct exists to make texting easier and more efficient but sometimes it jumps to the wrong conclusions.
17. When your phone screen still gets cracked even with a case on it.
The case exists to protect your phone from landing on certain angles that will cause the screen to shatter.
18. When a microwave only heats up certain parts of your meal but not the entire meal.
Maybe this happens due to the container in which the meal is placed. Perhaps the radiation concentrates itself on heating the plastic container itself rather than the actual food.
19. When people don't cover their cough or sneeze
I don't think I'm a germophobe but something about germs being shot out into the air across the room really grosses me out.
20. When people have loud phone conversations in public
I just find it annoying or inconsiderate and I know they mean no harm but still, could you please quiet down.
To be entirely honest, coming up with this list was a lot more difficult than I expected. Perhaps its because I've never really trained myself to look beyond the products or services I use.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
My Entrepreneurship Story
Entrepreneurship was something that really popped out at me during my sophomore year in high school when I met a friend who owned his very own clothing brand with a group of his friends. He was the person who really introduced me to the concept of entrepreneurship and the pride in being your own boss. He was the most dedicated, determined and at times overwhelmingly busy individual I had ever met. I had never met someone so dedicated and focused on expanding a company as much as growing as an individual like him. I heard many stories of all the experiences his clothing brand brought to him in his life such as being part of Fashion week, having to present in front of an entire high school about entrepreneurship and even how to deal with a lawsuit.
Another entrepreneur that I loyally follow that goes by the name "YesJulz" is someone I absolutely admire. YesJulz has become a very popular personality over social media using platforms such as snapchat and instagram to promote her projects that involve some of the biggest names in the sports world and both the music and fashion industries. She too is based out of my hometown Miami and definitely a person I would love to meet and aspire to be like when it comes to her insurmountable energy.
As an innovation academy student, entrepreneurship is something we closely analyze in order to put our innovative ideas into real life prototypes. During my freshman year showcase, I was part of a group that had to design an entire business and prototype of an innovative form of transportation. The company my group and I created called "Special Delivery" created a retrofittable delivery system for mail. The way it worked was through a pneumatic transport system which facilitated the delivery of mail from the mailbox into the home with just a flip of the switch making it highly practical and safe not to mention favorable for capitalizing home value. This project lead my group which was one out of 12 to win 3 out of the 6 awards given out. It was a really cool experience and also a very fun process that made us all so happy and reassurance that hard work really does pay off in the end.
Back in Peru, my little brother (17 years-old so not so little) is also in the Innovation Academy at our high school Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt American School of Lima. My brother has achieved so much from his junior to senior year from filming a documentary to participating in the marketing development of a Pepsi commercial. His latest projects have been the creation of a podcast and his company DipitZ. Sometimes he makes me feel like I'm not doing enough but that never gets in the way of how proud I am of him.
Check out his blog here: https://oscarcartagenajr.squarespace.com/
I enrolled in this class partially because I need it for my Innovation academy minor but as I've been able to set up this blog and freely express myself about different topics I've really been able to enjoy the time I've put into it. I'm excited for whatever else might come of this course. From this course I hope to gain tips that will help with learning about self-sufficiency and determination when you have a goal that you want to achieve whether that be in business and entrepreneurship or beyond.
Another entrepreneur that I loyally follow that goes by the name "YesJulz" is someone I absolutely admire. YesJulz has become a very popular personality over social media using platforms such as snapchat and instagram to promote her projects that involve some of the biggest names in the sports world and both the music and fashion industries. She too is based out of my hometown Miami and definitely a person I would love to meet and aspire to be like when it comes to her insurmountable energy.
As an innovation academy student, entrepreneurship is something we closely analyze in order to put our innovative ideas into real life prototypes. During my freshman year showcase, I was part of a group that had to design an entire business and prototype of an innovative form of transportation. The company my group and I created called "Special Delivery" created a retrofittable delivery system for mail. The way it worked was through a pneumatic transport system which facilitated the delivery of mail from the mailbox into the home with just a flip of the switch making it highly practical and safe not to mention favorable for capitalizing home value. This project lead my group which was one out of 12 to win 3 out of the 6 awards given out. It was a really cool experience and also a very fun process that made us all so happy and reassurance that hard work really does pay off in the end.
Back in Peru, my little brother (17 years-old so not so little) is also in the Innovation Academy at our high school Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt American School of Lima. My brother has achieved so much from his junior to senior year from filming a documentary to participating in the marketing development of a Pepsi commercial. His latest projects have been the creation of a podcast and his company DipitZ. Sometimes he makes me feel like I'm not doing enough but that never gets in the way of how proud I am of him.
Check out his blog here: https://oscarcartagenajr.squarespace.com/
I enrolled in this class partially because I need it for my Innovation academy minor but as I've been able to set up this blog and freely express myself about different topics I've really been able to enjoy the time I've put into it. I'm excited for whatever else might come of this course. From this course I hope to gain tips that will help with learning about self-sufficiency and determination when you have a goal that you want to achieve whether that be in business and entrepreneurship or beyond.
Introduction
Hello,
My name is Cindy Cartagena, I'm 19 years-old and I was born in Miami, FL of Colombian descent. I'm a sophomore here at the University of Florida in the Innovation academy majoring in sociology/ pre-health hoping to double major with psychology. I moved from Miami when I was 9 years-old to Quito, Ecuador until the age of 12 where I then moved to Mons, Belgium. I lived in Belgium until I was 15 and then moved to Lima, Peru where I graduated from high school and still currently visit as my parents are still stationed there. One of my dreams would be to be able to work in both polar opposite careers of Fashion Design and Medical Forensics or any forensic science. I would love to be able to explore each of those careers and do and learn as much as possible about both of those worlds. Another dream of mine is to write a book and I absolutely love makeup art and dance.
My name is Cindy Cartagena, I'm 19 years-old and I was born in Miami, FL of Colombian descent. I'm a sophomore here at the University of Florida in the Innovation academy majoring in sociology/ pre-health hoping to double major with psychology. I moved from Miami when I was 9 years-old to Quito, Ecuador until the age of 12 where I then moved to Mons, Belgium. I lived in Belgium until I was 15 and then moved to Lima, Peru where I graduated from high school and still currently visit as my parents are still stationed there. One of my dreams would be to be able to work in both polar opposite careers of Fashion Design and Medical Forensics or any forensic science. I would love to be able to explore each of those careers and do and learn as much as possible about both of those worlds. Another dream of mine is to write a book and I absolutely love makeup art and dance.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
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