You Can Have Whateva You Liiiiiiike

Without globalization, none of my dreams would be possible.
My dreams:
- meeting a Geisha
- moving to Paris and working as a street artist
- eating imported pasta
- buying chairs made my rugged Italians

Ok. So perhaps none of these are my dreams, but they may be someone’s. And my dreams certainly do include traveling to different countries, learning about cultures and customs, and experiencing a life different than the one I’ve grow up with. These dreams would not be possible without the aid of globalization.

This has, more or less, made everything accessible. I can drive a car made from another state, or I can get one from Japan. I can watch a movie from California, or France. Globalization has opened doors that wouldn’t have even been imagined before. It allows constant communication, exchange, transportation. It must be pretty obvious that I am grateful for globalization. I think that it has produced a lot of opportunities that have been, on a whole, very beneficial for my culture. However, I realize that it is a much more complex issue that just “Globalization is great”. It has led to an array of problems...growing consumerism, a widening space between the wealthy and the not so wealthy, etc.

But I think the pros outweigh the cons. The exchange of information has allowed many to educate themselves on different cultures, helping them further understand the people living with them on this earth. In my opinion, it has helped increase awareness on a plethora of issues and has started to reduce cultural tensions.

And there are tangible things I have gained from globalization. I can watch Paris, Je T’aime as many times as I want. I can listen to Israeli rap stars spitting hot fire. And of course, like Foer states so many times, I can watch the great sport of soccer, from any country in the world, in America.

Lions, Tigers, Da Bears, Oh My

Growing up as a little girl in the almost suburbs, sports were forced to become a very important part of my life. My parents decided that my siblings and I would benefit from gathering with other youngsters and playing any sport that was in season. I’ve played many: basketball, soccer, volleyball, and even “t-ball” (bad experiences caused my career to be cut short, and I never progressed to soft ball). These little league adventures helped me in all the standard ways, like teamwork and dedication and what not, but they also helped ensure that sports would always have a place in my life, no matter what.

I haven’t been a part of a sports team since 8th grade, but I still continue to play whenever I can. For instance, it’s considered a good day in my book if I got to play a pickup game of ultimate Frisbee in the park. But even if I’m not actively involved in them, sports still work their way into my life in one way or another. My family always turns the Bears game on, so I have spent many Sundays doing my homework either watching the game or speculating the results of the game by my father’s shouts from the other room. I also have a very sports enthusiastic boyfriend (ay boo =] ), who has strengthened the influence of sports in my life via Sox games and football education.

But putting all the influences my family and friends currently have on my sports life aside, I think they’d always be present in my life. I don’t know whether this is because of my introduction to them so early on in my life or because I just like being active. Whatever the reason, they’re there. And I’m very thankful for that, because they not only bring happiness to me, but bring me closer to the ones I love.