Saturday, December 28, 2019

Challenges of Interpersonal Communication Within the...

Challenges of Interpersonal Communication within the Japanese Culture One way of defining interpersonal communication is to compare it to other forms of communication. In so doing, one would examine how many people are involved, how physically close they are to one another, how many sensory channels are used, and the feedback provided. Interpersonal communication differs from other forms of communication in that there are few participants involved, the people who interact are in close physical proximity to each other, there are many sensory channels used, and feedback is immediate. An important point to note about the contextual definition is that it does not take into account the relationship between the people who are interacting with†¦show more content†¦Although the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, power generally rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan s till remains a major economic power both in Asia and globally. In 2005, Japan began a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (De Mente, 2009). â€Å"Masculine cultures focus on achievement, competitiveness, strength, and material success (West, R. Turner, L., 2006).† Japanese culture follows the masculine dimension. What material possessions a person has and what a person has achieved hold the most value. â€Å"Business is strictly business, and everyone is expected to do whatever the boss wants of them† (M. Stonecipher, personal communication, Oct. 25, 2009). All workers are expected to stay until the boss leaves (personal communication, Oct. 25, 2009). â€Å"The Japanese live to work in essence and everything is about business† (Masculinity in Japan, 2008). â€Å"But both men and women place high importance on achievement, material success, and learn to be ambitious and competitive (Masculinity in Japan, 2008).† In the home, the man is to be respected. â€Å"Women and men have very different roles in society. For example, men are understood to be dominant and tough while women are gene rally softer and more emotional† (Masculinity inShow MoreRelated Body Language: Cultural or Universal? Essay1714 Words   |  7 Pagesrecognized as being of great importance to the facilitation of communication. There has been a long running debate as to whether body language signals and their meanings are culturally determined or whether such cues are innate and thus universal. The nature versus nurture dichotomy inherent in this debate is false; one does not preclude the other’s influence. Rather researchers should seek to address the question how much of nonverbal communication is innate and how much is culturally defined? Are thereRead MoreCommunication And A Global Village958 Words   |  4 PagesCommunication in a Global Village Interpersonal understanding is far more complex than we understand it to be. To account for all parts of the equations requires understanding perceptual Orientations, similarity of beliefs and similarity in communicative style. The greater the similarity between these three parts the greater the interpersonal understanding grows. Every single time people talk, they are looking for a way to pass on information, by finding words or experiences with a common meaningRead MoreCross Cultural Relationships1105 Words   |  5 Pagesunderstand people from different cultures and how to interact appropriately with them also increases. Managers and leaders need to develop intercultural competences that can help them be more aware of their own culturally-based perceptions, norms, and patterns of thinking, and consequently adapt their behaviors according to specific cultural contexts. Managing people across cultures  offers solid theoretical frameworks and practical insights to handle the cultural challenges in managing people in a globalizedRead MoreIntercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks By Samovar, Porter, Mcdaniel Roy1267 Words   |  6 PagesIntercultural Communication Introduction According to the articles Intercultural communication stumbling blocks by Barna and Intercultural communication by Samovar, Porter, McDaniel Roy, describe the various challenges that are faced between communications of two individuals who come from different cultures. Notably, challenges that are faced by different people who come from different cultures exist due to the problem of the difference between the cultural norms. For instance, what is acceptableRead MoreSynergy Is The Highest Activity834 Words   |  4 Pagesand unifying and each part is the most exciting part. The creative process is the most terrifying part, because you don t know what s going to happen or where it is going to lead. You have no idea about the new risks and challenges you may face. To overcome this challenge and risk an enormous amount of internal security is required to begin with creativity. With creativity you open new possibilities and opportunities to others to follow and you become the pathfinder initiator. Synergy is everywhereRead MoreEssay on intercultural communication1346 Words   |  6 Pagesintercultural communication is also required.† Do you agree or disagree with his opinion? In a well-structured essay explain your ideas using clear examples to support your ideas. Distance and time are no longer the biggest obstacles to doing business, as result of human innovation and technological progress. 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In order to competitivelyRead MoreA Global Environment, Motivation, And Communications Across Cultures2262 Words   |  10 PagesIntroduction In this paper, the article under scrutiny delves in the analysis of management across cultures. The aspects under study include leadership in a global environment, motivation, and communications across various cultural divides in a global setting. All these aspects engulf the prominent topic of management across cultures. The focus also extends to include the identification of appropriate HRM skills across teams as a way of limiting workplace conflicts. These elements are related toRead MoreCross Cultural Sales Negotiation8301 Words   |  34 Pagesdeal with sales transactions or negotiations which span national and cultural boundaries. That means, sales negotiators interact with individuals from unfamiliar cultures that exhibit different negotiation styles, behaviours and expectations about the normal process of negotiation (Graham and Sano, 1984). This presents several potential culture-related obstacles that confront the international negotiator (Deutsch, 1984; Frank, 1992; Graha m and Sano, 1984; Hall and Hall, 1987; Tung, 1984; Zimmerman, 1985)Read MoreApplication Of Relevant Theories Within Health And Social Care1854 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction 3 AC1.1 Application of relevant theories in health and social care context: 3 AC 1.2 Use of communication skills in a health and social care contexts: 4 AC1.3: Review methods of dealing with inappropriate interpersonal communication between individuals in health and social care settings 5 AC1.4: Analyze the use of strategies to support users of health and social care services with specific communication needs: 6 Task 1 Case study 6 Task objective 01 7 Possible values and cultural factors which influenced

Thursday, December 19, 2019

An Anonymous Rape Survivor s Story - 1721 Words

â€Å"It wasn’t rape you were being such a tease.† â€Å"NO I said. I covered my vagina with both of my hands and I said NO! I was with a close male friend and I thought I was safe. I thought I was safe when I went out drinking with said friend and I thought I was safe when we went to my place to â€Å"hangout.† This is an anonymous rape survivor’s story. These common occurrences affect a fair portion of the population in Missoula, in comparison to the national average, and something should be done. There is also a low number of people who are there to support and help the survivors of sexual assault. According to city-data.com in 2014 the rape rate in Missoula was 68.9% and the U.S average was 27.2% per 100,000 pop. Missoula’s rape rate has increased every year with a staggering 22.4% increase from 2013. While the U.S average increased by only 0.4% from 2013. During 2011 Missoula was also named the rape capital of America. (Crime Rate in Missoula , Montana). With that being said, why is Missoula the only city with a target on their back? The New York Times reported that a series of events led to a Federal Justice Department investigation into how the university, the City of Missoula, and Missoula County handle the reporting of sexual assaults. â€Å"This is a problem that every college campus in America experiences, every community experiences at some level, so it’s not unique to the University of Montana,† UM President Royce Engstrom said. The stats of rape in Missoula are high in theShow MoreRelatedThe Lies We Tell Ourselves Essay2007 Words   |  9 Pagescharacter. We tell those lies to create a facade of being alright, while we are not. We are being told to move on, so we pretend to, like its nothing. we spend our days trying not to think, just do. We live our lives like any other. Because being a rape victim is just one of those things we have to get past through. Like missing the bus. Its no big deal. Johnny and Alicia have been classmates since the beginning of the semester, although Alicia has a little crush on Johnny, she is too shy to say aRead MoreSexual Assault On Campus And The United States Department Of Justice Essay2625 Words   |  11 Pagescontact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities such as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape. (Department of Justice) 90 percent of the victims of sexual assault are women and 10 percent are men, and nearly 99 percent of offenders in single-victim assaults are men (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2010). Sexual Assault can happen to anyone, notRead MoreEssay on Korean Comfort Women2590 Words   |  11 Pagesintended to do with them (Kim in Schallstede 25). Jungshindae was the women’s labor corps in which the women would work at a military factory and receive wages. M any women believed this was what they would be doing when they were recruited by the army (anonymous in Schellstede 103). The horrific practice of using comfort women for the army carried over from World War II to the Korean War. Many feel that the practice of comfort women lies in discrimination on the part of the Japanese in terms ofRead MoreResidential Schools, a Legacy of Shame2808 Words   |  12 Pagesno religion, intelligence, or right to live. This general idea has carried through-out the history of our supposedly great country; Canada. This essay will examine the residential school system in depth. It will then relate the Canadian Government s actions in response to residential schools, good and bad. From the late nineteenth century until well into the twentieth century, the Government of Canada worked vigorously to enforce their legislative war against Indianness. 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After exchanging numbers, this man called at night while my unknowing parents watched television in the living room. We talked more than once. Convincing me to runaway with him was not an overnight accomplishment. He took his time. He got to know me. He analyzed my troubles, and he asked me my dreams. I wanted to be a s songwriter. IRead MoreEpekto Ng Polusy on19213 Words   |  77 Pagesdepression and post-traumatic stress disorder as the most prevalent mental-health sequelae of intimate partner violence with substantial co morbidity. Research has shown with certainty that domestic violence has long-term negative health consequences for survivors which can continue long after the abuse has ended. Some of these effects become manifest in poor health status, poor quality of life, and high use of health services (Campbell, 2002). The Department of Health (1996) recognise that 5% of health yearsRead MoreGp Essay Mainpoints24643 Words   |  99 Pagesget in the way of a good story† is an instruction often heard in the newsroom †¢ Concept of media ethics is conceived to be an oxymoron. Sadly, many aspects of the modern media are stripped of almost all ethical concerns. In a reality of competition, ratings and economic considerations, ethics becomes a secondary, sometimes irritating, issue †¢ E.g. But consider 2003, New York Times writer Jayson Blair caught for plagiarising and falsifying elements of his stories †¦ clear to public that newspapersRead MoreStrategic Human Resource Management View.Pdf Uploaded Successfully133347 Words   |  534 PagesPrentice-Hall, Inc. A Pearson Education Company Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Compilation Copyright  © 2003 by Pearson Custom Publishing All rights reserved. This copyright covers material written expressly for this volume by the editor/s as well as the compilation itself. It does not cover the individual selections herein that first appeared elsewhere. ii Permission to reprint these has been obtained by Pearson Custom Publishing for this edition only. Further reproduction by any

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Starbucks Failure in Australia for Production - MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theStarbucks Failure in Australiafor General Production. Answer: Introduction A company success is based on the prior strategies which should be evaluated, examined, tested and proven to work in a specific geographical, economic or even social phenomena. Service marketing as well as product marketing are aspects where principles and theories pertaining the customer, marketing environments and general production factors are laid on ground to avoid failure and frustrations as in the case of Starbucks. Starbuck as a big company which came to the market and had been there for so long did not observe much of the marketing theories and principle (Honack et al., 2017, p.14). The basic principles that supports business ideas in relation to the consumers were ignored. The results of this was a fail. The marketing theory that says that, a company must put its products in position and services in the market place in a way that their consumers believe they need a particular product for service or a product needed by the customers has an added or a unique benefit (Hunt, 20 14, p. 411). The background of the business was not conducive. The conditions that were in the prevailing market were not supportive to the business. The conditions of the market were unfriendly from the fact that there were no well strategized moves towards approaching the market for coffee shops in Australia as it had happened in USA and Asia (George Anandkumar, 2015, p. 106). Creating an Image or the brand becomes a challenge I the competitive market in Australia, most specifically for coffee and other brews. Background of the Business Starbuck has been one of the greatest company which had penetrated into the market from the year 1971 to the year 1972 where it has monopolized the coffee shops in most parts of the United States of America. On its expansion to many countries in the globe, Starbuck thrived so much as a premium coffee shop. In many parts of Europe, Starbucks also held the market needs in Europe from the fact that, it Americanized the European coffee tradition and therefore taking control of the market in the prevailing Europe. However, the case did not persist that way. Though having a big trademark and having the monopoly in the market, that did not seem to work in some countries. Australia was one of the places where Starbucks was unable to succeed. The CEO, Howard, attested one of the basic theory in marketing when he says that the company sells not only coffee but also experience. According to the reviewed information, the company would command about 62% of the specialist coffee shops market in Un ited States of America by 2007, while in Australia the things where contrary to that. In the year 2000, the Starbuck company was making its way in Australia (Honack et al., 2017, p.13). Australian were used to coffee traditions even before the Starbuck entered in their market. Unlike many other countries who were experiencing coffee for their first time, Australian were no way excited by the coffee in the market. The report will therefor e be examining the progress of Starbuck from how it was formed and how it failed in penetrating in Australian market. The marketing principles, theories and activities will be used in analyzing the case study of Starbuck five-star coffee shop stores. Marketing Conditions The marketing conditions can be understood in terms of, packaging, labelling, publicity, construction products and product-supplier registration. The condition of Starbucks market in Australia was variant. The packaging of the coffee to the Australians by Starbucks. The company has a proper company retail experience and packs the coffee in very authentic bags which distinguishes its brands. The labeling of the product is unique, perfect and consumers can easily locate the products owned by Starbucks. In Australia, the company was labeled from USA where it had originated from. This however, did not credit oi as much in a coffee lovers zone, Australia (Beverland, Gemser Karpen, 2017, p.86). Marketing Positioning The efforts of Starbucks to influence the brand it had raised in the market can be identifies in marketing positioning in relation to other brands which were competing with the same product. Starbuck strived in many countries to subdue others and emerged successful in many states. In reaching Australia, its objective to occupy and create a unique and an advantageous consumer mind seemed to deteriorate in Australian Market. Other brands in Australia caught the consumers mind as they were used to them before Starbucks introduced theirs. Target Market Starbucks aimed at establishing coffee shop market in different parts of the globe. It had started in USA and then to other continents like Asia, Europe, South and North America until it targeted Australia. In Australia the response was not as expected. There was frustration and drawbacks as a result of poor planning and false sense of brand security (Virgin, 2016, p.93). Discussion Competition from Australia For the service that Starbuck would offer in hospitality services, competition was unbearable. For the case of other countries, Starbuck was able to grasp the control of the service marketing. Some stores which were already established like the Gloria Jeans stores, McCafe, The Coffee Club, Wild bean Caf and Hudsons caf had already dominated in the marker since the year 1996. Gloria Jeans was on top with 500 stores by the year 1996 while Starbucks could only be able to maintain 23 stores in Australia. According to the principles of marketing, the Starbuck stores could have a diversity of service or even offer a different product that could be unique so that it would create a new market for the consumers. Starbuck experienced harsh competitors. Again, Australian History proves that for many years, there was coffee and better brews that were in their disposal long before companies like Starbuck could bring their services to Australia. Since the company had enough resources from the exis ting markets, it made a lot of investments in expanding its market and improving the conditions of the coffee shops (Solomon, 2014, p. 328). For this reason, Starbuck forgot the theory of consumer service that purports consumer segment. The company focused so much on their brand and expansion and forgot that their business was to sell services. In Service marketing and product marketing, the company should have an equilibrium in its practices. This means that a company cannot underestimate or ignore service delivery and keep on improving its product, definitely the customer segment will be broken. This was what Starbucks did. Remember that Australia coffee lovers had a very strong taste of coffee. The internal marketers of coffee could offer as good coffee as the one that the one the customers would like but, the services would be different. Star buck was not in a position to capture this taste, for the product they offered, it was nice, but, their services were unbearable to capture the Australian coffee lovers. These are not the best practices of a service industry. The hospitality strategies to the customers should be selected in a pleasant, unique and to the customers expectations in a new competitive market. Failure to which, the company ends up losing its market. For a company to take services to a new environment, there should be a thorough assessments of the target customers, risks, uncertainties and how to adjust to them and evaluation of the new market to avoid frustration in its service. Segmentation Approach to Service Marketing All the products and the services that the company brings in place are meant to meet the needs and the market demands of the customers. However, the interests of the customers are different. Not all the customers will be interested with similar product and this results to the need for segmentation. The demographic segments, segments based on behavior, segments based in history of the products and relationship with the products and services are to be held on a top priority. After the company such as Starbucks is in a position to evaluate these factors, it can therefore proceed to introducing the services and products to the desires population. The marketing mix strategies can therefore be extended to the consumers as per their need and profitability (Hollensen, 2015, p. 371). Starbucks did not observe this this principle. On its earlier reputation in Asia and Europe, the company thought that the same response would be applied in any other segment. There was generalization of facts which were not necessarily true. This leads to Starbuck opening new stores everywhere in Australia only to find that the response was not as in other cases. The segment analysis was not carried out appropriately as the company would have seen the existing ground for the coffee business and responded as per the marketing norms and principles (Hollensen, 2015, p. 372). The craft of presenting the coffee product to the segments that would like it and who can afford it as well as who would access it is a key element in segmentation in marketing. Starbuck coffee would not be accessible to low level consumers. Only the middle and top consumers accessed it, therefore, seems like an overlook to some economic strata or segments (Lusch Vargo, 2014, p.37). Endorsement in service and product market as per the case of Starbuck stores The testimonials from the past customers or the prominence of a product and services assures other, or the new customers about the product. According to James Burrow (2014), the importance of designing effective endorsements is to use testimonials from a person that the target consumers can identify and recognize. In a new demography, Starbucks would have employed this strategy to sell out the new product. As a result, the company would have picked the customers who would be driven towards the senior citizens who would have reviewed the product. Word of Mouth and Personal Selling Principle of Marketing Word of mouth and personal selling are principles that should be held with a lot of care in service marketing. The customers need servers and attendants who are able to speak nicely and address the customers concerns with a lot of care. For this reason, the service providers should cultivate on grasping the customers mind and taking all their attention to create likelihood and rapport. Through the word of mouth, a customer can be driven to liking the product. Conclusion All in the nutshell, the marketing theories principles are primary contributors to the success of any company. Any organization that has its future have to embrace all these strategies in marketing. Starbuck company is an example of companies which once felt the joy of monopolizing the market and at the same felt the loss of market and stores from its competitors. Underestimating the competitors, slow response to the risks and uncertainties as well as wrong marketing strategies would cost a lot to the company and its products (Hollensen, 2015, p.105). Starbuck is such a company. However, the company still exist. It can still proceed with expansion internationally in places that exhibit Australian business and marketing environment. Recommendations Amidst the existing market competition, the Starbucks can still make it through a change of marketing strategies. A strategy which seems fail in its application should be done away with. There is in no way that a company should proceed with medieval principles in a changing global economy. A strategy for change should be carried out every now and then after serious deliberation. Secondly, Starbucks company need to carry on out need assessment and segmentation approach before indulging in a new business environment. This will help the company to have the correct information of the environment where the marketing strategies and practices are going to take place. In this case, different segments should be examined and evaluated at first. Instead of the company to introduce the product to the market at once, it should take time with controllable investment stores which could not lead to heavy loses as the ones witnessed in Australia (Lovelock Patterson, 2015, p.61). Thirdly, the company should meet the psychological contract of its customers. The company had promised the people that it would be in a position to deliver superior coffee in comfortable surroundings in Australia. These words of mouth sticks to the consumers minds. The consumer builds very high expectations of the products prospected to be introduced only to find that it is not as natural as it was expected. This brings about the issue of frustration and breaking the psychological contract between the producers and the consumers. Another issue is the product-cost relationship. Service marketers can use the tactic of offering competitive pricing and giving frequent buyer discount to catch the interested customers. According to the principal of considerations, there are very many customers who are at many times in dilemma of the products. Starbucks can adapt this strategy, may be, once per week by offering a free breakfast to all customers. References Baron, S., Warnaby, G., Hunter?Jones, P. (2014). Service (s) marketing research: developments and directions. International Journal of Management Reviews, 16(2), 150-171. Beverland, M. B., Gemser, G., Karpen, I. O. (2017). Design, consumption and marketing: outcomes, process, philosophy and future directions. Celuch, K., Kasouf, C. J. (2015). An Exploration of Relationships Among Perceived Market Orientation, Strategic Flexibility, and Customer Value in the Supply Chain Under Different Conditions of Environmental Turbulence. In Assessing the Different Roles of Marketing Theory and Practice in the Jaws of Economic Uncertainty (pp. 315-315). Springer International Publishing. George, J., Anandkumar, V. (2015). Branding in China: Lessons from the Foreign Brand Success and Failure Stories. Gonsalves, S. S., Dias, F. (2015). A Study on Consumer Attitude Towards Caf Coffee Day. Reflections-Journal of Management, 5. Hollensen, S. (2015). Marketing management: A reationship approach. Pearson Education. Hollensen, S. (2015). Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education. Honack, R., Honack, R., Waikar, S., Waikar, S. (2017). Growing Big While Staying Small: Starbucks Harvests International Growth. Kellogg School of Management Cases, 1-22. Hunt, S. D. (2014). Marketing Theory: Foundations, Controversy, Strategy, and Resource-advantage Theory. Routledge. Lovelock, C., Patterson, P. (2015). Services marketing. Pearson Australia. Lusch, R. F., Vargo, S. L. (2014). The service-dominant logic of marketing: Dialog, debate, and directions. Routledge. Qian, Y. A. N. G., Xing, T. U. (2016). Starbucks VS Chinese TeaStarbucks Brand Management Strategy Analysis in China. International Business and Management, 12(1), 29-32. Reinhard, K. (2015). Differentiation as the key to success. A marketing plan for Starbucks. Solomon, M. R. (2014). Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Virgin, M. (2016). CHEERS! STARBUCKS STRATEGY IN ITALY AND THE GLOBAL MARKET (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon). Virgin, M. (2016). CHEERS! STARBUCKS STRATEGY IN ITALY AND THE GLOBAL MARKET (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon).

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Best of Both Worlds free essay sample

I lived in two different worlds, each with one parent and a bedroom to call my own. My mother always assured me that I had the best of both worlds. I never felt I was missing out on the opportunity of having an amalgamated household like most of my other friends. I never really knew what it was like to live with a father and mother under the same roof. My parents split before my first birthday and kept their distances ever since. I always admired the typical American family that I would see on television sitcoms. Growing up I religiously watched the Brady Bunch, Growing Pains and Family Ties. From our small television screen I thought sheer family perfection was encased with a white picket fence, married parents and siblings bickering obsessively. Those families seemed like they had it all in comparison to myself and the neighbors in our modest apartment complex. We will write a custom essay sample on Best of Both Worlds or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But regardless of the apparent differences, my mom always resonated that the arrangements that I had, made all of my other friends seem somewhat underprivileged. Compared to them, I had two homes, two birthdays, two Christmas’ and individual time with each parent. During the school months of September through June, my mother and I battled through California’s notorious parking lot freeways and conquered laundry days before a quick visit to the beach. Making ends meet in a single parent household was difficult but we were a powerful duo. My mother was a super hero flying to and from work, taking me to school, soccer practice and violin lessons. My mother taught me strength and perseverance. As a little girl, nothing was too far beyond my front door. Everything was within my grasp and the world was mine for the taking. At six years old I held the world in my hands for the first time clutching onto my shiny white airline ticket with my pudgy fingers. Charlie Bucket had no thing on me. I was about to embark on a fantastic journey to a whole new world. I was alone with my purple suitcase and my Lisa Frank coloring book, ready to board a plane on my first adventure to South Dakota to visit my dad. From that moment I learned that a single piece of paper could void the gap between the southern oases of California that I grew up in, to the vast pastures of South Dakota. I experienced a new lifestyle and saw rolling hills, beautiful foliage, rows of corn, grasslands with roaming cattle and even buffalo! Together Dad and I weaved through the Badlands, the Black Hills and experienced Mount Rushmore. There was only so much time to expand within my two-month visit; however my Dad always made sure our time together was well spent. We traveled South Dakota from corner to corner, Minnesota and sometimes Nebraska. On the open road Dad taught me the importance of individuality and always impressed upon me that college was the door that would open me up to the world. For seven years living life with my mom and dad separately was routine until my Dad’s untimely death in 2006. I looked forward to packing my bags and holding my own ticket. I felt so self-important and empowered with holding the key to the sky. Traveling back and forth was a lifestyle that I became accustomed to. I learned that life is truly an adventure and a road worth traveling. Thus far I’ve only had a small taste of life in the sky and the road before me and I hunger for more. Now here I stand eager to embark on my next journey; college and all of the prosperous opportunities it holds for me and my future place in the world. I often dream of traveling the world and experiencing all of its beauty and mystery, but instead of an airline ticket in hand, I am driven and determined to be holding my degree.