Predicting the Future With Language

In my class of Equality, we have been focusing on what equality can look like in the future. In order to understand that idea, we had conversations about what injustice looks like in our day to day lives and what we can do to fix it. We had a conversation with a professor from UIC, a college here in Chicago. I was so excited to be taught by a professor in my senior year, because it prepares me for how a college class will feel like next school year. He was very engaging, as I liked the way he spoke and articulated his thoughts and ideas. He listened to my classmates' ideas and answers to his questions very well and incorporated us into his teaching. Our conversation was about issues that roam around our lives and what solutions we see that current people in power are doing about it. In my last Action Project for Equality, I had to think of a social justice issue that I believe will be relevant in 100 years. I had a lot of trouble thinking of an idea at first, but after having a conversation with my mom about how she feels left out in the world, my writing was sparked. I am very passionate about rights for people of color in America, so I decided to write about the equality of language.

What is the Relationship Between Personal, Local, and Global needs?

Throughout my time in my "Equality" and "Social Entrepreneurship & You" classes at GCE, I have discovered what my place in the world is, a little bit at a time. In my Equality class, we learned about social justice issues that run in the community around us, in our country, and globally.

Through my business, I help the world on a personal, local, and global level.

Personal: Assert my belonging in the Mexican community
Local: Assert belonging for all Mexicans in the community, and fund money for a Mexican empowerment non profit
Global: Through the power of art, Mexican culture will be represented more in the world because of people wearing our products.

Don't Be Self Conchas

I never would have thought that I would want to be a social entrepreneur, ever in my life. I grew up thinking that working for a business only meant that you would have to be stuck in a suit and tie, running from meeting to meeting through downtown's many buildings, on a 9am-5pm schedule. I was very stubborn in my first days of my Social Entrepreneurship & You course because I was not particularly interested about that side of business. However, my perception of business changed when I gave this course a chance. I was surprised to discover through class discussion that...

Business is everywhere.

Business is the tamale lady standing on the corner, hustling to sell more than her competitor across the street.
Business is negotiating the price of a house you want to buy off of a seller.
Business is trading your bag of chips for a classmate's stack of Oreos.

We partake in business everywhere we go, though we don't realize it. Though I was fascinated by that idea, I was more intrigued that business can be used for social good, aka social entrepreneurship. I learned about key concepts of social entrepreneurship, identifying social issues, different types of investors, and how to create a business plan.

I've been in charge of my own jewelry business since last April. I haven't had the chance to sit down and create a detailed business plan about it, so I took advantage of the time given to do this Action Project to focus on my business.

It was very difficult to delve into my business and nitpick something I am very passionate about, and discover why I am so passionate about it. I am beyond proud of my finished work. I hope I am able to find an angel investor soon to take my business to the next level, thanks to taking this class.

Ali, Tanveer. “Hispanics Pass Blacks As Chicago's 2nd Largest Racial, Ethnic Group: Census.” DNAinfo Chicago, DNAinfo Chicago, 15 Sept. 2017, www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170914/near-west-side/census-white-black-hispanic-majority-minority-race-ethnicity-population-change-2016-2017-decline/.

Bloom, Mina. “City's Latino Neighborhoods: Population Up, Challenges Persist, Report Says.” DNAinfo Chicago, DNAinfo Chicago, 13 Oct. 2017, www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20171011/logan-square/uic-report-latino-neighborhoods-report-latino-population-growth-chicago/.

Duncan, Eric. “Topic: Jewelry Market Worldwide.” Www.statista.com, www.statista.com/topics/5163/jewelry-market-worldwide/.