My Mission Statement & Goal Plan Essay Example for Free

My Mission Statement Goal Plan Essay I may not convince the world that I can be the next Nobel Peace Prize winner. I may not persuade people to make me the next Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. Nor do I have any illusions of garnering millions of votes to become the next president of this country. But if I am to be given an opportunity to describe myself, all that I can honestly say is that, I am who I am. Thus, in an attempt to try and take a glimpse in defining the person I always see in front of the mirror, I have come to a resolution that the best thing to do is to find and understand my purpose in life. By doing so, I ponder to ask the question, why do I exist? In other words, my mission in life is quite an irony or for some, it may seem stupid or foolish. Simply put it, my mission in life is to find my mission life. Although many people may think that this statement is hilarious, I will respectfully beg to differ. There are millions of people living aimlessly spending every second of their time in confusion and uncertainty. And for me, this is a frightening reality and to a certain extent, it is a sad one as well. And I admit that I am afraid to be one of them. It is the fear of not knowing where I am, where am I going and what I want to do which has led me to set my life in constantly pursuing the truth behind my existence or purpose in this world. I believe that by doing so, can help me see even just an inch of the incomprehensible reality each person carries with him or her. In light of this, I have aimed to unravel my mission in life through a process of first understanding my short-term goals of knowing who I am and where I stand through the institution that I want to affect and influence my life. Then, I plan to venture into my long-term goals that reflect my dreams and ambitions not just a professional and a son but more importantly, as a person. Thus, in order to know and find one’s purpose in life, a person must first know and find who he is, where he is and where he wants to be. It has been said by Benjamin E. Mays that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching a person’s goal, the tragedy lies in having no goals to reach. To me, he makes perfect sense. Somehow, a person who has no goals, dreams or ambitions has nothing to hope for or to look forward to. I thus find it highly imperative to transfer to the University of Southern California as my primary short-goal. I know firsthand that life in this world is often measured by the amount of success, wealth and fame a person possesses. I am familiar with the University of Southern California. I believe that if I am to be given the opportunity to study in such a distinguished institution, such an achievement tells me that I will never find myself wanting to be more successful, wealthier and famous than I already am. Transferring to the University of Southern California reflects a bigger picture of my goal of constant growth and development. In this moment in my life, I know that the best thing to do is to further my knowledge and skills. Entering this institution is the wisest way of preparing myself for what the world will be showing and throwing at me. And I have to confess that I am afraid to take this step. Amidst all that have been happening in my life, I sometimes think that I have made a shadowy acquaintance, and its name is fear. But I have learned not to stand down anymore in the face of adversity. There is always the fear of not being good enough or failing. But I believe that my greatest fear is merely fear itself. And for me to overcome this, I have to keep walking and moving despite being afraid. People will constantly judge and criticize me. I know this and I have learned to live with it. I honestly get affected because I am a sincere person. I dedicate and commit myself to something I really believe in wholeheartedly. My friends and family will attest to this fact. I can guarantee that I am a person of principle with an unwavering confidence and an incomparable determination. I am absolutely confident that I can bring the person that I am to the University of Southern California. By transferring to this university, I have realized that I also have to achieve the goal of convincing other people that I want it and that I deserve it. If this is a business proposal then let me assure everyone that I am good investment. I believe in who I am and what I can do. All that I am asking for is for you to believe in me. In essence, my short-term goals are all about realigning my path not just on a good one, but more importantly, on the right one. My short-term goals can briefly show who I am based on what I have already been through. My short-term goals are the remaining few years before I venture into the real world. Furthermore, my short-term goals portray my desire to take a step and revolutionize who I am right now in becoming someone I hope to be. During the vast reign of the Roman Empire, a great man by the name of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus once said, â€Å"A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions. † I somehow feel that ambitions can thoroughly define a person but at the same time, it can also break the person. Somewhere in life’s journey, a person will have to face the â€Å"non-negotiable† realities in their lives. These are the things that tend to be so difficult and even impossible to change. I have thus made my long-term goals into something practical and achievable for me. I have envisioned myself in about less than ten years as someone who runs his own business while also helping my father run his. I find my long-term goals to be realistic and honest. I do not have grand dreams of eradicating poverty or creating some out-of-this-world idea that will save us from global warming. I want to keep my feet firmly on the ground. But this does not mean that my long-term goals are plain, simple and self-serving. As matter of fact, I expect them to be challenging, tricky and risky. Running and having my own business is no walk in the park. In this modern age, the competition is so tight and the stakes are roughly high that being good falls short by a mile. This does not even include the fact that I will also be greatly involved in my father’s business. But I want to take this risk. How can people discover new lands if they cannot lose sight of the shore? If I am to venture into this, I need to be cutting-edge and have an innovative mind. This is why the link between my short-term goals and my long-term goals is very significant. I want to take it step by step without any shortcuts. Each stage in my life is a learning process where I grow and develop myself for my future. Most people describe who they are but what they have. Still, others know who they are by how they are described by other people. I for one believe that what I have and how others perceive me are just parts of who I am as a whole. I believe that the person who best knows who I am is myself. People may see me in terms of things I have or from their own point-of-views. But I can never be half the person that they say I am if I do not know and accept what I think and see that I am. This is why my short-term and long-term goals are all starting points to initiate my true purpose in life. Through these goals, I may somehow find a semblance or clue of what I truly want out of my life. Through these goals, I can find who I am. As Lao Tzu has said, â€Å"Knowing others is wisdom, knowing the self is enlightenment. † Simply put it, through acting upon my goals, I intend to find something that will grab my attention and interest that will make me dedicate my life to it. Some will spend their entire lives looking and searching, while others may spend their lives staring at a distance unable to move and make a difference. In the greater scheme of things, I like to believe that it is not about reaching or achieving that which I have set for myself but rather, it is all about how I get there that really counts. How wonderful it is if I can do the things people say I cannot. This is largely founded on the inescapable reality that obstacles will appear every now and then. As for me, the greatest obstacle and weakness I will ever face are being idealistic and fear, respectively. As mentioned earlier, there is always the constant fear of not being good enough or failing. In addition, although being idealistic is not really a bad thing, it also comes with a heavy baggage. By being idealistic, I tend to ignore the reality presented. There is a fine line separating what is in theory and what is in practice. Somehow and some time, this reality will slap me in the face. There is the need to be practical which I fall short of a lot of times. I do believe that there are three types of people in this world: those who ask what happened, those who watch things happen and those who make things happen. I have stopped asking what happened being blind and deaf to the realities of life. I have stopped watching things happen from the sidelines being apathetic to the things happening right before my very eyes. I have thus decided to change and to make things happen. I try to stop making excuses. I do not need an excuse to live but rather, I need a reason to live. And dedicating my life in search for my purpose is something I believe is worthwhile. It is about time to go beyond myself and offer who I am not what I have. If there is one thing I have learned and will never forget from this class is that achieving my goals or aspirations in life is neither an overnight phenomenon nor a magical trick that can easily be pulled instantly out of the hat. Dedicating myself to something I hold dear is always a process. It is an on-going process of continuous learning, understanding and growth as a student, as a son and as a person. These goals may not happen today, tomorrow, next week or next year. The important thing is that it does not start next year, next month, next week or tomorrow but rather, it starts today.

The Presidency of Bill Clinton :: William Jefferson Clinton Essays

The Clinton Presidency William Jefferson Clinton?s eight-year term as president of the United States of America was one of the most corrupt, and possibly the most damaging ever. There is evidence connecting him to hundreds of deaths, injuries, and explosions. He, along with his administration, made a number of ?Faustian bargains and policy blunders? (Timperlake) that allowed a malicious, rancorous government to gain more power in Washington. He acted dangerously and impulsively, and befriended all of the wrong people, including Chinese arms dealers, spies, pimps, and gangsters, among others. Clinton also compromised U.S. safety on more than one occasion. He is a cold, racist, corrupt man who has proven many times over that he does not care about the people, only in using them and obtaining money. In the following pages, one will see facts proving all of this. One could begin with the issue of genocide. In 1994, between half a million and a million members of the Tutsi tribe were slaughtered by Hutu tribal militias. Even though this massacre was widely covered by the news, the United States did nothing to help stop the killing. President Clinton offered an explanation to survivors in Kilagi for this. He said that he ?did not fully appreciate the depth and the speed with which [the survivors] were being engulfed by this unimaginable terror.? (Kelly) This explanation was not quite true. The U.S. government watched the killings in Rwanda closely. Clinton was completely familiar with the genocide; he knew what was going on as hundreds of thousands were being murdered. And yet, he still did nothing to stop it. He is also quoted as saying that he only ?did not act quickly enough to stop it after the killing began.? (Kelly) Actually, he personally denied urgent requests from the U.N. to send a small force of non-U.S. troops into Rwanda. Then on May 24, 1994, with the estimate number of the dead at 400,000 and rising, Clinton said, ?We cannot solve every such outburst of civil strife or militant nationalism simply by sending in our forces.? (Kelly). One may ask, if he considers a million corpses a ?civil strife?, does he really care about the world and the human race at all? Then, one may look at what happened with Mena, and the two teenage boys, Don

Does Globalization necessarily lead to cultural homogenization? Essay

Globalization entered everyday English usage in the early Sixties, following the periodical of Marshall McLuhan’s Gutenberg Galaxy (Mc Luhan 1962). Malcolm Waters, a principal authority on the subject, define globalization as a â€Å"process in which the limits of geography on social and cultural arrangements retreat and [as a consequence] people become ever more aware that [such constraints] are retreating† (Waters 1995, p. 3). The term ‘global’ is an astoundingly recent creation, appearing for the first time in the 1986 second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED’s definition of ‘to globalize’ is easy and to the point: â€Å"to render global. † In globalization â€Å"a large and increasing proportion, whether native or of immigrant backgrounds, are also people with little or no education and few Marketable skills† (Cohen and Kennedy: 2000, 75). â€Å"Globalization, in transnational corporate lingo, is conceived as the last of three stages of global transformation since 1945† (Jameson and Miyoshi 1998). The impact of the new world economy has been just as great on North-South relations as on North-North ones. For one thing, as Manuel Castells suggests, some parts of the South are becoming increasingly irrelevant and marginal to the world economy (Castells, 1997). In other parts, the possibilities for information-based development are there, but a totally different set of new policies is required. These policies would have to be based on the development of human productive potential. In popular usage, globalization is associated with the idea that advanced capitalism, aided by digital and electronic technologies, will ultimately obliterate local traditions and creates a homogenized, world culture. Critics of globalization argue that human experience everywhere is becoming fundamentally the same. The transformative power of digital technologies in a globalised world means that â€Å"information and knowledge have now become media of production, displacing many kinds of manual work. Marx thought that the working class would bury capitalism but as it has turned out, capitalism has buried the working class† (Hutton and Giddens 2001:22). Globalization is both Homogeneity-Heterogeneity as it â€Å"refers to both the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole†. In other words, it covers the acceleration in concrete global interdependence and in consciousness of the global whole (Robertson 1992: 8). It involves the crystallization of four main components of the â€Å"global-human circumstance†: societies (or nation-states), the system of societies, individuals (selves), and humankind. This takes the form of processes of, respectively, societalization, internationalization, individuation, and generalization of consciousness about humankind (Robertson 1992: 215-6; 1992: 27). Rather than referring to a multitude of historical processes, the concepts above all capture â€Å"the form in terms of which the world has moved towards unicity† (Robertson, 1992: 175). This form is practically contested. Closely linked to the process of globalization is therefore the â€Å"problem of globality† or the cultural terms on which coexistence in a single place becomes possible (Robertson, 1992: 132). The actual process of globalization has been erratic, chaotic, and slow. Some observers of modern politics argue that a basic version of world culture is taking shape among extremely educated people, particularly those who work in the rarefied domains of international finance, media, and diplomacy. Hyper elites of this nature make up what Samuel Huntington (1996) calls a â€Å"Davos culture†, named after the Swiss town that hosts yearly meetings of the World Economic Forum. Whatever their ethnic, spiritual, or national origin, Davos participants are said to follow a identifiable lifestyle characterized by consistent behaviour (social ease, aristocratic manners, and the ability to tell jokes), technological complexity (knowledge of the latest software, communications systems, and media innovations), complex understanding of financial markets and currency exchange, postgraduate education in influential institutions, common dress and grooming codes, similar body obsession (dietary restraint, vitamin regimes, fitness routines), and a control of American-style English which they use as the main medium of communication. â€Å"Super cultures in the global age of communication which is distinguished by growing and ‘complex connectivity’† (Tomlinson 1999) Davos people, it is asserted, are instantly identifiable and feel more comfortable in each other’s presence than they do amongst less sophisticated compatriots. The World Economic Forum no longer commands the consideration it did in the Nineties, but the term â€Å"Davos† has entered world vocabulary as a synonym for late-Twentieth-Century cosmopolitanism. Building on this idea, the sociologist Peter Berger (1997) argued that the globalization of Euro-American academic agendas and lifestyles has formed a worldwide â€Å"faculty club culture†. Since the Sixties, international funding agencies have sustained academic exchanges and postgraduate training for scholars in developing countries, permitting them to build alliances with Western colleagues. The long-term consequence, Berger argues, is the formation of a global network in which similar values, attitudes, and research goals are collective. Network participants have been instrumental in encouraging feminism, environmentalism, and human rights as global issues. Berger cites the anti-smoking movement as a case in point: the movement began as an elite North American preoccupation in the Seventies and consequently spread to other parts of the world following the forms of academe’s global network. As with Davos sophisticates, members of the international faculty club rely on English to communicate with each other. The anthropologists Ulf Hannerz and Arjun Appadurai have studied similar elites that work on a global scale. Hannerz (1990) believes that a world culture appeared in the late Twentieth Century, stemming from the activities of â€Å"cosmopolitans† who nurtured an intellectual approval for local cultures in the developing world. The new global culture, in this interpretation, is based on the â€Å"organization of diversity† rather than â€Å"a replication of uniformity. † â€Å"Cultural globalization refers to the intensification and expansion of cultural flows across the globe. Obviously, ‘culture’ is a very broad concept; it is frequently used to describe the whole of human experience† (Steger 2003: 69). By the end of millennium, international elites had organized dozens of NGOs to assist preserve cultural diversity in the developing world. Institutions such as Cultural Survival (located in Cambridge, Massachusetts) now work on a world scale, drawing attention to indigenous groups that expect to see themselves as â€Å"first peoples†Ã¢â‚¬â€a new, global description that emphasizes common experiences of utilization. Appadurai (1997) claims that modern diasporas are not simply transnational but â€Å"post national† meaning that people who work in these spheres are unaware of national borders and socialize in a social world that has several home bases. Fundamental to these elite visions of globalism is a disinclination to describe exactly what is meant by culture. This is not unexpected, given that the idea of culture has become one of the most contentious issues in contemporary social sciences. Throughout most of the Twentieth Century, anthropologists defined culture as a shared set of beliefs, customs, and ideas that held people together in identifiable, self-identified groups. Scholars in several disciplines challenged the idea of cultural coherence as it became obvious that members of close-knit groups held fundamentally different visions of their social worlds. Culture is no longer professed as a pre-programmed mental library, a knowledge system inherited from ancestors. Modern anthropologists, sociologists, and media specialists treat culture as a set of ideas, aspects, and expectations that are continually changing as people respond to changing circumstances. This logical development reflects communal life at the turn of the Twenty-First Century; the disintegration of Soviet socialism and the rise of cyber capitalism , both of which have increased the perceived speed of societal change everywhere. Globalization empowers the hybridization of nations and communities to fight cultural imperialism or chauvinism by helping them to describe who they are, where they come from, and where they are going. Globalization and technology assist communities to develop cultural networks, free from state or hierarchical controls, regulations, or limitations. It also helps to demystify cultural differences by easing intercultural connectedness, interactions and hybridization. Therefore, while properly managed, globalization can be good for cultural inspiration, diversity and development. There is a ‘new cosmopolitanism’ in the air as, through criticism, the concept has been rediscovered and reinvented. As the late Nineties there was a sharp increase in literature that attempted to relate the discourse on globalization (in cultural and political terms) to a redefinition of cosmopolitanism for the global age. â€Å"The new cosmopolitanism is the prerogative of wealthy, self-serving, anational agents of capital on the one hand and, on the other, international moralists. † Nussbaum, 1996, 5. For this reason it is worth pointing out that etymologically, cosmopolitan is a blend of ‘cosmos’ and ‘polis’. Thus ‘cosmopolitanism’, captivatingly enough, relates to a pre-modern ambivalence towards a dual identity and a dual devotion. Every human being is rooted (beheimatet) by birth in two worlds, in two communities: in the cosmos (namely, nature) and in the polis (namely, the city/state). More exactly, every individual is rooted in one cosmos, but concurrently in different cities, territories, ethnicities, hierarchies, nations, religions, and so on. This is not an elite but rather an inclusive plural membership (Heimaten). Being part of the cosmos nature, all men (and even all women) are equal; yet being part of diverse states organized into territorial units (polis), men are different (bearing in mind that women and slaves are expelled from the polis). Leaving aside for one moment the issue of women and slaves, ‘cosmopolitanism’ at its root includes what was separated by the logic of barring later on. â€Å"Cosmopolitan† ignores the either/or principle and symbolizes ‘Sowohl-alsauch thinking’, the ‘this-as-well-as-that’ principle. This is an ancient ‘hybrid’, ‘melange’, ‘scape’, ‘flow’ idea that is even more structured than the new offshoots of globalization discourse. Thus cosmopolitanism generates logic of non-exclusive oppositions, making ‘patriots’ of two worlds that are concurrently equal and different. The â€Å"anti-globalization† label became prevalent after the Seattle demonstration, apparently â€Å"†¦a coinage of the US media† (Graeber 2002:63). However, it is significant to realize that the term is strongly contested amongst activists – and that many, if not most, reject the label â€Å"anti-globalization† entirely. So what is it, exactly, that activists oppose? Although there has been significant attention paid lately to militarism in the context of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it seems to me that most activist accounts in recent years have focused more centrally on phenomena linked with economic globalization: the increasing power of corporations, the growing role of international financial institutions, and the neoliberal policies of trade liberalization and privatization propounded by the latter and from which the former benefit. These are seen to produce economic inequality, social and environmental destruction, and cultural homogenization. They are also accused of leaching power and autonomy away from people and governments – of being anti-democratic. Such an understanding of â€Å"the enemy† chimes with many commentaries on the movement (Starr 2000; Danaher and Burbach 2000). It can also be discerned on activist websites. The Charter of Principles of the World Social Forum (2002) declares participant groups â€Å"†¦opposed to neoliberalism and to domination of the world by capital and any form of imperialism†. The statement of principles on the Globalize Resistance site (2002a) indicates that it is primarily against the extension of corporate power over people’s lives under the heavy hand of international financial institutions similar to the WTO and IMF. The group’s newsletters then target the exploitative practices of particular multinational corporations and draw attention to problems of debt and financial restructuring. Lastly, the Peoples’ Global Action manifesto (1998) articulated opposition to the expansion of the role of â€Å"capital, through the help of international agencies† and trade agreements. There are significant resonances here with academic depictions of globalization. I have argued elsewhere that an ‘economic-homogenization’ model of globalization is becoming increasingly dominant in both academic and popular usage, which focuses attention on the improved combination of the global economy and its homogenizing effect on state policy and culture (Eschle 2004). Such a model is prevalent in International Relations (IR). It is characteristic of liberal IR approaches that support globalization that skeptical refutations of globalization are described as exaggerated and ideological and critical IR theories condemn globalization as profoundly damaging. It is with this last, critical, approach in IR that we find the strongest resonance with activist discourses. Both activist and academic critics share the assumption that globalization equates with the neo-liberal economic developments described above. Then, in an extremely significant move, these developments might be linked to the underlying structures of the economy and globalization reinterpreted as the latest stage of capitalism. According to Klein, â€Å"the critique of ‘capitalism’ just saw a comeback of Santana like proportions† (2002:12). The global culture is usually used in contemporary academic discourse to distinguish the experience of everyday life in specific, exclusive localities.

Showing Addition in Written English

You can show addition in written English in a number of equivalent forms. This includes the use of, subordinating conjunctions, coordinating conjunctions, introductory words such as in addition, moreover, etc.  which are known as conjunctive adverbs. Once you have mastered the basics of   showing addition, continue on to to learn other forms of connecting sentences in written English. correct usage in written English, you will want to express yourself in increasingly complex ways. Sentence connectors are used to express relationships between ideas and to combine sentences. The use of these connectors will add sophistication to your writing style. Type of Connector Connectors Examples Coordinating Conjunction and High level positions are stressful at times, and they can be harmful to your health. In any case, there is a price to pay for success.Peter decided to quite his job, and his friend agreed that it was an excellent decision. Conjunctive adverbs in addition, additionally, furthermore, moreover, also High level positions are stressful at times. Furthermore, they can be harmful to your health. Make sure you understand the risks before you accept the job. Weve completely redone our living room with hardwood floors. In addition, weve put in new windows to bring in more light.Hes an excellent tennis player. Also, he plays golf like a professional.We need to hire some programmers. Additionally, well need to find someone to help out at the reception desk. Correlative conjunctions not only...but also Not only are high level positions stressful at times, but they also can be harmful to your health.Peter decided to not only go back to university, but he also sold his car and house. Prepositional phrases in addition to, along with, as well as Along with being stressful, high level positions can also be harmful to your health.In addition to the need for investment, our company needs to do more research into the latest science.Youll find English grammar as well as pronunciation and listening skills can be challenging at times. Continue Learning About Sentence Connectors You can improve your writing skills by learning to use sentence connectors for a wide variety of purposes. Here are some of the most common uses of sentence connectors in English. Showing opposition to an idea, or indicate surprise when something doesnt go as planned: Peter flew to Miami for the sales and marketing convention, but was surprised to learn that it had been cancelled the day before.Although they decided to fly to London for vacation, they had originally wanted to tour China and Thailand.    Showing causes and effects can also be expressed with connecting language such as  because  or  as a result. The CEO called an emergency meeting because the companys stock price was dropping quickly.Susan spent fifteen years training to join the Olympic team. As a result, it was no surprise when she was chosen for the team in 2008.   Sometimes its important to contrast information to make sure you show both sides of the argument. On the one hand, we need to hire new employees to keep up with demand for our products. On the other hand, human resources report that there are not enough qualified candidates.Unlike his father, the young man felt it wasnt necessary to compete with his peers for attention.   Use subordinating conjunctions such as if or unless to express conditions that are required for success. Unless she arrives soon, we will have to postpone the meeting until next month.The manager decided to ask everyone to work overtime. Otherwise, the company would have to hire ten new employees. Comparing ideas, objects and people is another use for these connectors: Just as I think its a good idea to study at university, I respect those who choose to create their own companies.  Youll find there is plenty of food and drink in the kitchen. Similarly, towels, sheets and other linen can be found in the apartment.