We Live in A World Where Are a Myriad of Issues that Happen Essay

For the final discussion of this semester, I want you to self-reflect on what it means to be a global citizen and how you can take what you have learned from this course to better the world that we are all a part of.

First, please read my thoughts on the matter.

At times I’ve felt optimistic. At times I’ve felt pessimistic. At times I’ve loved and yearned to be loved. At times I’ve avoided human connection and sulked in a self-perpetuated solitude. Life is dynamic, as are my feelings; as are your feelings. The world is full of hate yet paralleled by an infinite abundance of love. It is easy falling into feelings of despair as there are many reminders all around to the destructive tendencies of humans toward one another and also our planet. Yet, within these reminders to the inherent darkness that permeates our existence there are moments of hope, moments of encouragement, moments that remind us that we, the human species, possess the ability to make the world a better place. Whether it is changing the life of one, or positively changing the lives of many, every single one of us is capable of so much more than we realize.

I actively remind myself to be the change I hope to see in others. Although I’m far from perfect and have days where I feel down and would rather sulk in my own sorrows than remind myself to love and practice gratitude, I will never give up on doing what I can to make our world a better place.

This week, I encourage and invite you to reflect on how you can also make a positive impact in your life and the lives of others. The website located below contains 8 global issues (located at bottom of page – from “Girls & Women” to “Water & Sanitation”. Click on the one you feel most connected to, read more about this topic, and then respond to the prompts below.

Website:

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/

Prompts:

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As a twenty-one year old woman, there is a very obvious connection between myself and the topic of girls
and women. However, with the recent election in the United States, I feel my passion for this topic has
been re-ignited. When looking deeper into the topic of girls and women on the global citizen website,
came across an article that made me hopeful. Titled “Biden Win Seen as Green Light for Women’s
Reproductive Rights” this article discussed the foreseen future regarding women’s reproductive rights and
the new President-elect, Joe Biden. While I don’t believe something so personal as women’s reproductive
rights should even be a political argument/issue the fact of the matter is for now it is. Unfortunately, as
long as it’s a political decision changes in power such as the 2020 election will greatly impact the rights of
girls and women. While electing Joe Biden as the President of the United States and putting the first
woman ever in office serving as the Vice President of the United States is a big leap in the right direction
there is still so much progress to be made.
By contributing to the girls and women cause it would benefit myself and every woman immensely. There
are many limitations on our rights and a clear lack of equality compared to men solely based on our
reproductive body parts. As a woman, this is a very frustrating issue because I don’t understand the logic
behind it. If a man and a woman are working at the same company, with the same position, the same skill
set, and the same amount of experience, the man would still get paid more; and for what? The answer is
for his innate ability to be a man. Other than the fact that his reproductive biology differs from the woman
there is no other difference however it makes a BIG difference.
Utilizing my communication skills such as my ability to network and spread awareness could help
contribute to the progression of this cause. By enlarging my social network small things such as reporting
important information regarding the girls’ and women’s cause could potentially raise awareness to others
who might not be educated on the topic. I believe the communication skill of persuasion would also make
a great impact on my ability to change people’s minds about issues such as reproductive rights and equal
representation.
I feel that I could be more proactive with my communication efforts to better support this cause. A lot of
time I find myself being reactive to this issue when it is directly affecting me however argue that by
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1. Of the topics offered on the website, the fight to address global hunger resonated most strongly with
me personally. Being fortunate enough to grow up knowing I could always find my next meal, food
seems like such a fundamental and accessible necessity, and yet so many people across the glove
struggle with hunger. While I was aware of the hunger issue, the 2 billion people cited by the website
was shocking to me and gave me a new understanding of how vast and dire the situation truly is. Food
is obviously needed to sustain life, but its impact on us is much greater than that. Food is an act of art
and self expression for many, how and what we eat dictates the health of our bodies and minds, and it
gives us an opportunity to connect with others. For all of these reasons, I feel it is essential we
acknowledge and address this dire issue.
2. By contributing financial support or volunteering time to address the issue of global hunger, we can
improve the livelihoods of those who consistently battle with hunger, and potentially save lives
otherwise lost to starvation. In addition to helping others, by choosing to contribute, we can improve
our own lives. I personally believe helping others and being altruistic is one of the best ways to secure
our own happiness and mental health, and by helping those in need we can help raise our collective
well being as a people.
3. Like nearly all endeavors in life, communication skills are a useful, if not essential, tool for contributing
towards this cause. The ability to communicate effectively will serve a combination of purposes,
amongst them being the ability to garner more support towards your cause, opening new doors and
opportunities to receive help from those in power, and helping to understand and share the
experiences of those who are most impacted by the problem.
4. The improvements I must make to become better adjusted to my role as a global citizen coincide
strongly with the improvements I must make to be a better person. Being more sympathetic to the
experiences of others, being aware of and improving my own flaws, and gathering more knowledge
and confidence will all contribute to my ability to function as a global citizen and aid in my ability to
help others.
5. I’ve had many significant takeaways from this course, some were more academic and focused on the
study of communication, while others resonated more personally and perhaps have more direct
correlation to my daily life. The one thing that stuck out most was a new understanding of people I
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1. Ensuring our environment remains sustainable for human life has always been an important factor in
my life, as well as the lives of many I’ve been surrounded by/have surrounded myself with. Originating
from Marin County, I grew up surrounded by nature and was raised to have an appreciation for the
beauty of such uninhibited/unaltered natural features of land. This became my basis for what
“protecting the environment” meant and as I got older I began to conceptualize the wide range of
other factors that contribute to preserving our environment. I’m sure my upbringing played a major
role in my opinions on this topic, but the worldwide acknowledgment and urgency over this issue
during my lifetime has cemented my belief a bit further.
2. Personally, the incentives for others far outweigh the benefits I feel I would individually gain from
curbing future damage to the environment. As the Global Citizen website emphasizes, the financial
gains by the poorest countries in the world are a huge highlight of tackling environmental damage. In
addition, reducing the destruction caused to aquatic habitats from both excess plastic in the ocean
and rising ocean temperatures further helps to protect revenue needed by individuals around the
world. I am fortunate to live in a country that is not among the “poorest in the world”, so the benefits |
see for myself are based more around moral satisfaction and a deeper sense of comfort that future
generations will inherit a planet in healthy condition.
3. Communication skills are certainly an essential part of furthering the overall process of protecting the
environment due to the fact that creating meaningful change relies on a majority of the population
contributing. This means those who can communicate clearly are at an advantage when it comes to
explaining the necessity to those around them. However, communication skills are only one half of the
skillset needed to effectively convince. Just as important is truly understanding the science and
factually representing the causé. Similar to how those who know extensive amounts of science, but
suffer to communicate, are unlikely to be productive in explaining their cause, the same is true for
good communicators who are not factually supported. Both are necessary; neither trumps the other.
4. For myself, I could certainly enhance my ability to communicate more effectively with those who do
not see things from my own point of view. A major part of having an impact – as stated before – is
convincing others to align with you. This is often more difficult to do when you are faced with a
person who isn’t just uneducated on the topic, but rather has an opinion that blatantly counteracts
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