Thinking About Success

Hard Work 

Skill

Opportunity

Luck

      "Hard Work" is definitely the most important ingredient because if you don't work hard then nothing will get accomplished. Hard working people are inevitably successful, so why wouldn't it be number one? "Skill" follows "Hard Work" because if you have skill, but not a hard work ethic then the skill goes to waste. "Opportunity" and "Luck" kind of fall hand in hand, but I think "Opportunity" ranks higher than "Luck" because I believe that luck has very little to do with the success of a person. There are some rare cases when people are very successful, purely by luck, but most often the people who become very successful have a very long story of how they got there, and all of the failures they faced along the way. Living in the United States gives everyone a greater chance at success  because of the heightened level of opportunity, but without hard work and skill, success is not likely to occur.

Marissa Mayer, the first female CEO of Yahoo!

Exploring Business / Clothing Industry

      Today I learned a lot about a store that I never thought much of. Being an avid Youtuber, I have seen enough clothing "hauls" for a lifetime. Something I have found interesting is that there are many stores that people in Britain, among other places, shop at which I have ever heard of. One of the most frequent stores I would hear was Zara. I saw the clothes they would buy and would think to myself how on trend and cool they were. I had never even seen a Zara until I went to Atlanta about a year ago. It was at the top of my list of stores I wanted to visit in Lennox Mall. It's crazy to think about the process that went into each article of clothing being on that rack in Atlanta. Just going and shopping there you would never know that the garment you were buying and taking home was probably in Spain less than a month ago. I find it very interesting learning about fashion because in the consumer's eyes the struggle of clothing is finding something you like and that fits your personal style. However, when you look at it from the point of view of the seller, the struggle completely changes. There are actually people who go to work every day just to predict what my age group wants to buy, and then sitting next to the person doing that could be a person trying to figure out how to get it into the store in Atlanta before is goes out of style.

Age of the City Blog Post

Dear Father,

         Since arriving in America I have experienced many surprising things. America is a very interesting country with a wealth of opportunity for everyone, including immigrants. I feel like I am welcomed as an African American, but at the same time I still feel like an outsider from time to time. Due to the fact that I speak very little English, things are often difficult because there are not very many people who speak the same language as me. At the same time, I have been pleased to find that there are things such as newspapers and even some plays which are produced in our language.
        In regards to housing, I have been able to find a small place within the small neighborhood of African Americans who recently traveled to the United States too. I have been very lucky in finding housing because in my explorations of the city I have seen some very sad situations with kids living in the streets. This is something I believe the country can do something about and I have seen in the news that there is a man taking a pictures of the children to raise awareness. I have also been lucky enough to find a special man. His name is Kaiden and he is amazing. He has been out looking for work recently, he really wants a factory job, but unfortunately those are hard to come by for us African Americans.
        I have been thinking about this idea of a city life and new traditions, and I think I quite like it. The idea that we can all come together in one big melting pot and exist to gather in harmony is a beautiful thing. This idea is called assimilation, and I think I am on board with it.

                  Your Daughter,
                              Marissa

I have enclosed a picture of a job that Kaiden dreams of, working at
a cotton gin

Cotton Gin 1890