Not everyone is able to say this phrase, and this in itself is a phenomenal accomplishment. Although the speaker does not mean literally being embraced and accepted by the entire world, but more of she has had the support of many from many backgrounds and cultures in her work, which is also still excellent. It requires a very hard working and determined person to be able to do this, as well as very clever and socially smart in order to effectively deal with all types of backgrounds and people.

What a beautiful sentence! It is so true that the generations before us hold so much wisdom, and wisdom being the only valuable thing that can only be passed down after time has passed. Age and experience leads to valuable wisdom. Unfortunately, in this day and age the advice of elders is not taken seriously or not considered. But I truly believe that in order for good and smart generations to come in the future, we must listen and learn from the success and mistakes of those right before us.

This is a great quote. I think to empower anyone, you need to educate them. Education is golden. It benefits the one teaching and the one learning. Knowledge builds confidence, encourages bright ideas and creative solutions. Knowledge is also contagious for those who want to learn. There is no better gift to give to someone than the gift of information and education. That is truly the gift that keeps on giving in our society today, and centuries in the past. Our education is priceless, and we should be very proud and blessed that we have access to this quality education.

Although I understand the point the speaker is trying to make here, I am a little uncomfortable with the fact that he keeps referring back to feeding pigs in order for it to benefit our society and economy. There are so so so many people around the world that die from the lack of food everyday, the focus should be on them. The focus should be on them not only to save the food that is being wasted, but to also be kind to each other. Not everything done on a global scale has to benefit the government and economy in some way. Sometimes, things are done to help other for the sake of just helping and supporting. This is what makes societies and people love each other, and want the best for each other. Nevertheless, this pure intention is something that is ideal, a wish you may say. Trying to change the intentions of a population is an almost impossible goal. So one can start small, like this speaker mentioned.

"Around every street corner in Britain, in Europe, in North America". Only Western areas!!! Such an interesting point that popped out to me when I read it. How come? How come this big waste is only being done in Western countries? Is it because most big companies are located there? Is it because business runs the society there? Or maybe because in Western societies, food is not worth as much as in other African and Asian countries. Coming from an African background, I can definitely say that food is a symbol of growth, connection, and a way to express appreciation and love. It would never go to waste in this way. There are too many people that die hungry in order for this type of waste to occur.

This was interesting observation to me, as most people I know in the USA and outside of the USA would not care to think about these things. In so many situations, we get so caught up in our lives and take all the things we have for granted. We do not care about what stores do when we are not in them, how they get rid of their food or clothes. It means a lot to me that the speaker of this talk at a bright age of 15 years old was able to make this observation and determined that it was important to take action. Another point that was mentioned here is that supermarkets did not even want to speak about their mistake. Either they feel too guilty or do not care to have any feelings towards their actions. Which one though? That is the question.

This is an interesting statement. The report card and grade system only works when there are strict consequences that penalize those who perform poorly, and reward those who perform well. Although the consequences and benefits on a global scale are obvious, not all world leaders necessarily want the best for their population. There are many corrupt leaders who only care for their benefit and the benefit of those they like/support. How beneficial or impactful would this method be? What would motivate all types of leaders to actually make sure they are "A" countries in terms of people and well being, rather than just economic status. I personally do not think this system of grading countries is the right approach. There are so many things that would lead leaders to prioritize to achieve their goals, and this might not be the right things needed to move forward.

I wonder if judging important world issues like the ones mentioned in the block above, such as need of survival and opportunity by transforming them into numbers is a good approach. These concepts like survival and building a better life are very real human struggles that people across the world face. I think the issue is that these struggles are being turned into numbers that leaders look at and move on. Although turning issues into numbers makes them easier to visualize, it reduces the importance and human feel of the issue, every person is seen as a number to help improve the reputation/scale of the country to the face of the world. This should not be the situation. I am not sure how you can measure these very qualitive concepts in an effective way without transforming them to numbers, but I know that transforming them to numbers makes them seem much less like problems and instead a checklist.

Is it really though? Would providing citizens with insight into how their countries score on a global scale actually want them to demand change? How motivated would they be to take action based on this scale? I think this statement is very subjective. There are already many reports on countries around the world of how their health, economy, etc is doing, and that does not seem to motivate many citizens to take action. Reports will not motivate everyday citizens. What motivates everyday citizens are events and circumstances that directly affect them. I do not necessarily know the best way to actually inspire the need for citizens across the world, but I know for a fact that presenting data and paragraphs about what is wrong is not what these citizens need to see to understand the impact of their country's success of failure.

Listening is something many people in our society have stopped doing. We have become so suck into what we have to say, and trying everything we can to make sure our ideas are heard and considered. However, smooth interactions and discussions are a two way street, you must practice completely listening and reflecting on what you are listening to, then coming up with an appropriate reply rather than just wanting to mention your point. This will help us learn more about different points of views and experiences, no matter if we agree with them or not.

If we apply these standards in our lives not just in our class, we will be living in a much better world.

I like the idea that we're doing a pledge to our manners! I also like the idea of trying our best knowing that failure is evident. People say this a lot, failure is the key to success and allows you to learn from our mistakes and improve. However, applying this concept to daily life is difficult and takes much practice before we can really benefit from our mistakes, and learn from those around us. Also, having an open mind remembering that everyone's work and ideas are valid and valuable is a key skill that will not only help us succeed in this course, but life in general.

Different cultures, backgrounds , communities we belong to and our life experiences affect the way we think, feel and react towards one another tremendously. Sometimes you say or do something with good intention that's being interpreted in a wrong way. The receiver might feel bitter about your words or action because of her/his previous experience that brings bad memories, or even because a culture or norm that you are not aware of ! At the same time your pride stops you from being compassionate and remorseful. After all you did not do anything wrong ! That is where we need to step up and feel for one another .To put yourself in someone else's shoes takes a lot of courage and effort.