ICT began its unstoppable rise beginning in the late 18^th century, with the invention of the printing press and steam engine, which allowed for the mass production and distribution of literature. Two hundred years later, telecommunication is the norm, made possible by personal computers and the Internet. Together, they allow anyone in the world to access information regarding any subject and communicate with others within milliseconds. And thanks to such advanced methods, today’s economy is able to be run (for the most part) across national borders. Global exports nearly quadrupled, and foreign direct investments grew by twice as much, between 1965 and 1995 because of this economic expansion. And now, companies have the ability to design, create, market, and sell their products completely with online collaboration. Such e-commerce grew exponentially from $400 billion in 2000 to $3.7 trillion in 2003, with growth still occurring rapidly.

Financial and cognitive access could severely inhibit a country from experiencing the benefits that having proper access could bring. Nearly every country in the world has some kind of physical access to ICT’s, but in poorer regions, they are possibly trying to work with 20 year old machines they are possibly not very familiar with, or still have yet to have ICT introduced to their region. This aspect of the digital divide means that countries without proper access to such facilities could miss out on financially lucrative opportunities, or even expanding their level of communication and friendliness with other countries, business and political wise.

Perhaps this assertion has influenced the common American attitude towards the underprivileged and poor individuals in other countries. As an American, I could assert that their indigenous lifestyle (which I could fine to be bizarre) contributed to their lowly state, and that any sympathy would be wasted on them, without taking into consideration how they might view their circumstance differently. I find it plausible that this is not only relevant to the American outlook of other countries. I believe people everywhere are either appalled or envious of certain aspects of societal norms in all other parts of the world. If this statement is at all correct, and the cultural relativists’ assertion that the judgment of other peoples’ conduct is an arrogant act, then it can be concluded that the world is filled with arrogant people. But apathy with respect to world poverty is not inevitable by any means. Initially it is understandable why one society would be unable to sympathize with those suffering in another society, but in this day and age of advanced information technologies, we all have the ability to become more aware of the lifestyles and traditions of other peoples. And if we as an advanced race of humanity can wrap our minds around different societal codes, we could grow to somewhat better understand the situations of the impoverished in other countries.

Attending fine arts events is something I attempt to do regularly, especially when it comes to local theatrical productions. I used to be involved with the local theater group, having performed and helped out with two productions. Even though I am not involved directly with the production, I love to attend the performances. The theater managers, without fail, select the best plays in which they can involve as many people, of all age groups, as possible.

Now I have free access to quality theater, which also values the involvement of the students, theater majors or not. And all of this, not a five minute walk from where I live, as of August. I will, without a doubt, attempt to attend every production to come. Perhaps I will get the opportunity to perform in one of these future productions.

I attended the Festival of Fine Arts 2009 Opening Gala, featuring ensembles of the music department of Florida Southern College. I can only describe my experience that evening as mind blowing. The skill, raw talent, and passion of the students that I observed was fantastic. Any one person in the audience could not deny that it was an impressive thing to witness. The hours of practice those student performers put into their individual and group preparation for the event was blatant. And all could assume that these students truly love what they do.

Attending an event such as this, which included men’s and women’s chorale, as well as symphonic and jazz band performances, was a new experience for me. In the past I have attended school band performances, and was even a chorus girl in middle school. And those performances were good in their way. But never have I heard young musicians perform live, and of this magnitude.

I hope to enjoy performances such as those I saw at the Gala again and again in the future. Like the theater productions, maybe I will audition for the women’s chorale come next year.

Browsing the list of times and activities I created, I noticed that during the first half of my day (from the time I got up to the time my classes were done for the day), I carried everything out as I should have. I was always 10 minutes early, or at least on time, to my classes. I ate, I did work expected of me, I did not waste any time then. But when the chance to chill out from class time came around, I immediately went into shut down mode. The fact I had homework awaiting me did not seem to faze me at all. I had time to socialize for hours, to play pool in JRB, to spend more time than necessary at dinner, but not to sit down and begin work on my assignments. In my mind, I do not know where to begin.  Work due weeks from now throw me off. I have no idea where or when to begin working on them.

It saddened me to realize that I am not devoting the time and energy I should be into my school work. I love being at college. I am so lucky to be here, I am having a great time, and I value it more than people would think. I have the opportunity here my parents never did, and I have no intention of ever disappointing them. Realizing now how lazy my study habits have been, I intend to drastically change my plan of action.

I flip open the laptop to access the World Wide Web to quickly check up on e-mails concerning campus sporting events I’d love to attend but never do find the time to, as well as the humorous chain e-letters my dad never fails to forward me. I particularly like the bits concerning that Maxine woman. Myspace, having become obsolete in the social networking world, is forgotten and I personally find little purpose in having a Twitter site. I scroll through the 50+ notifications I have on Facebook, all of which are typically left by my admirable dorm mates. Between the 6 of us, our tendency to get over excited about the inside jokes, quirky statements, or photos of each other posted on our sites can become quickly overwhelming and might require a good half hour to filter through, comment back, and appropriately “LOL” at each one.

I look at the clock of my CD player: 10 minutes till class. Grab my backpack and my ever reliable, always powered on iPod, and I’m out the door.

 What knowledge I have gained concerning the matter at hand has led me to side largely with the structuralist mind set; the “middle ground” concerning optimistic/pessimistic viewpoints on the digital divide. Structuralists claim that ICTs, in essence, are transformed by the society they are introduced into; that is to say, ICTs will follow already set models of not only the distribution of power in a region, but also that of education and financial standards, instead of reforming those already set standards. Now, that is not meant to imply that ICT will never aid a country in further technological advancement, or simply, the advancement of the population. It means only that the very first step in introducing ICTs is for the said ICT to conform to the values of the society. As ICT is made available, any group that may find itself in need can then gain access. Who those groups are and what information they access depends greatly upon the socio-economic status of the region as well as the balance of power and influence (national or global).

On the topic of universal access versus universal service, it would be nice to see ICT service made into a utility, such as telephone access and electricity. At this point in time in America, private vendors control the distribution of internet access. It’s nearly impossible to find internet access reasonably priced either, unless you purchase the service along with adjoining cable or phone service, something already provided as a basic utility. That opinion is formed with America in mind however. In other parts of the world, universal access could be just enough. Countries that are largely rural are good examples, or even those who simply do not stress having telecommunication capabilities.

Most of the top choices came as no shock, although seeing that my interest and values are in congruence to careers such as an elementary school teacher, health director, and broadcast new analyst.  Never have I sat down with the thoughts of pursuing any of those careers.  The title’s themselves never have appealed to me.  But just the simple suggestion of them allowed me a chance to ponder the possibilities. At the end of it however, the thought of reigning over a group of 20+ kids under the age of 10 frightens the living daylight out of me.  And quite frankly the medical field interested me at a very young age, before I became aware of the amount of science courses and YEARS involved in earning a medical degree.  The thought of standing before a video camera to deliver the news to anyone willing to listen is a glamorous concept.  I have a past time of watching news programs with my grandfather, and more recently, with my dad, since this past election got the nation in frenzy.

For the most part, browsing the list CareerMatch™ compiled, with me in mind, did me justice as far as mentioning many careers I have considered or pondered on in the past; further justifying that perhaps I do indeed have a clue as to what to do with my life.

Of course if I take the path of an artist, literary or visual, I’ll be living the impoverished lifestyle that we’ve been discussing as of yet.  Or perhaps I’ll be lucky enough to gain a decent amount of fame and modest fortune, able to use my talents to portray the lifestyles of the hungry and impoverished souls, to draw further awareness to the worldwide issue at hand.