We Run This Town (Blog Post #8)

In my senior year in high school I served as student body president, and with that position came the role of leader of the B.O.S.A. (Board of Student Affairs) class. Our community consisted of students of all grades, from different backgrounds and neighborhoods, and different social standings. If a community were to be chosen to represent the word diversity, it would've been ours.
We were all there for a common purpose, and that was to work together as a community in order to complete tasks that would lead to successful events for our school. Although students in government positions were mandated to be apart of the class, it was still a conscious choice we made because we wanted to be included  in an important and exclusive experience.
We would communicate with each other, delegate tasks, and hold professional team and project meetings. We would also have open discussions and warm up questions that would allow us to give our input and demonstrate our individuality and creativity. It was a positive environment and very influential to the rest of the school.
A few of the disadvantages were that many people in the community were once adversaries campaigning against each other for their respective positions. Although much time had passed since the results, there was still some tension and unspoken animosity between certain individuals, myself included. We were all a community but it was apparent that cliques still formed within the class. It was inevitable, we were still in high school, after all. Thankfully, we were still a mature group and our duties were still fulfilled.
Being a part of a community like our B.O.S.A. class at that particular time our lives definitely added to our character and development as young adults. I learned a lot of crucial skills and made lifelong friends and network partners. My community was short lived but made a lifetime impact on me.

"I'm Just Saying You Could Do Better" Blog Post # 7

On the plus side, I feel that I have done a stupendous job at maintaining my professionalism efficiently and consistently. My attitude has been recognized as mature and admirable by my peers and instructors. This is a positive accolade for a crucial skill that I plan on continuing to demonstrate throughout my careers.
It may come to a shock to many that the things I am most proud of are simple things like organization and timeliness. Before Year Up, I was not the best advocate for these two important skills. I was notorious for being late to everything. It became so much of a bad habit that people would schedule plans and inform me to be there thirty minutes before everyone else. It was expected of me to arrive late and people would accommodate their schedules on my behalf. This negative habit not only needed adjusting, it needed to be eliminated entirely.
My organization skills were also sub par before I attended Year Up. I would not take advantage of simple tools like calendars and planners. I would rely and depend on my memory for everything, and my memory isn't as sharp as it once was. Luckily, now I utilize all resources available to me in order to stay on top of tasks. I not only use my daily planner, but I also use the calendar on our Outlook for school, and I also use Edmodo to communicate with my peers about assignments. I am more proficient now because of simple skills like organization and timeliness.
As far as my growth areas are concerned, I can definitely admit that although my professionalism has improved substantially, there is always room for improvement. I have been told on many occasions that I have the qualities of a leader and that I should take initiative and find a role in leadership within our community. Unfortunately, I have yet to take advantage of support I have garnered and seek a leadership position. Although I am confident in the impact I am capable of creating as a leader, I am deterred by distractions and need to refocus on my objective to find a career and excel in it. The best way to make a great impression at any future career is to prove you can demonstrate leadership qualities. I will begin to do a better job at preparing for my future and start working on my capabilities in a leadership role.

Product of My Environment (Blog post #6)

42 people were murdered in East Palo Alto, California in 1992. Although the number is relatively low as compared to most major U.S. cities, it was those 42 murders, in combination with our population of 24,322, that helped make East Palo Alto the murder capital of the United States. This is what our community is known for to the rest of the country. It is upsetting to know that the city that I live in is synonymous with murder and crime despite the fact that our crime level and murder rate has decreased significantly and are at an all-time low. I am not a product of my environment.

I will admit that my surroundings played a role in my upbringing but it is not solely responsible for making me who I am today. For example, the friends, enemies, and acquaintances I’ve shared relationships with were factors in my development but it isn’t guaranteed that the same factors couldn’t have been possible had I lived somewhere else. I developed the majority of my character through family and no matter where we lived, my family would still be there for me to learn from and grow with.

I am eternally grateful that I grew up where I did because I do believe it triggered discussions with my father, conversations with my mother, and camaraderie with my brother, all of which helped strengthen our relationship. When we make the best of any situation that our neighborhood brings to our doorstep we develop a bond that is unbreakable. I do, however, believe that this bond would still have come to fruition if we lived in another city, another state, or even another country. The challenges and benefits we experienced were unique because of where we were but there are still challenges and benefits to be experienced everywhere else. My character and my personality were destined to be what they are today, regardless of where I grew up. This was simply just the path chosen for me. I have no regrets.

Power to the People (Blog Post #5)

“We are the 99 percent,” “Solidarity forever,” and “Save schools, not millionaires” are just some of the statements declared during the Occupy Wall Street protests. The 99 percent refers to the percentage of Americans who are affected by an unstable economy with record-breaking unemployment rates, high home foreclosure rates, low funding in schools, and overall social unfairness. These recent demonstrations exemplify the actions resulting from the disgruntlement over the decisions made in the past few years, but who the messages are aimed at are the one percent of Americans who made, and are still making, these decisions. These are people in government, large corporations, and of course, banks that although make up one percent of the population, still make up forty percent of the country’s wealth. Unlike the majority of the U.S., they’re not affected by their actions.
In “The Poverty Business,” Brian Grow and Keith Epstein target companies run by individuals that share a similar characteristic to the people being demonstrated against in the Occupy Wall Street movements; That characteristic being greed. Owners and managers of companies like J.D. Byrider Systems Inc., Jackson Hewitt, Tribute Mastercard and BlueHippo are people who are well aware of the opportunity divide and the people on the opposite side. They are also mindful of the colossal damage they inflict on those people by bamboozling them into preposterous interest rates and payment plans. They are cognizant of the fact that they are destroying the lives of people who have little hope to begin with. Unfortunately, the victims are oblivious to what's occurring to them until it’s too late.
Albeit the companies previously mentioned are conscious to the repercussions that they bestow upon the general public, they are not solely responsible for the results of their deceit. The people need to take responsibility for their lack of comprehension when it comes to malicious companies and their treacherous methods. To end this disarray they need to organize themselves and bring this to the attention of the government. These companies and their greed will not cease until they make it illegal for them to continue their reign.