Saturday, April 18, 2009

The Economy, Technology, Environment: Challenge to Hope

The new year began on a somber yet hopeful note - our economy was falling, but we were hopeful for a new beginning and renewal in America. Distress could be seen everywhere. All of a sudden, the issues we watched on television or read about in the news started having a direct impact on our lives.

Americans now have a chance to reflect upon their lives: is this what I always wanted to do with my life? have I pursued my passion? am I truly happy with my career? did I do what was important to me or my family? For many people, their job was their identity. They held on to it like a prize. The issues we are facing is a wake up call to people who thought that they created a safety net out of their careers that sheilded them from facing the realities of life. This era of uncertainty is also a lesson for young people in high school and college who will be entering the work-force soon. They know what uncertainty means and are armed to deal with challenges more than the generation that preceded them.

We are entering a period of rapid transformation in the political, environmental, and technological areas. Social media is transforming the way we live from micro-blogging to networking, from online collaboration to video sharing. There is a wealth of information we can draw from. My generation (Generation Y) has faced challenges growing up: from an era of comfort to an era of uncertainty. We are transforming the web and social media. We are transforming society. Despite the new challenges we are facing about the economy or the environment, we are creative enough to invent new ideas or amend existing ones. New ideas or a combination of ideas from various fields are waiting to be created: technology, green energy, economic theories, medical discoveries. Our brainpower is faced with a challenging new era and its up to us to make the best use of it.

Edison said: "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up".

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