The world we live in. This phrase has been used in many different contexts and for various reasons. What does it mean to truly begin to comprehend this world, the people it contains, and the decisions made by these people. This group contains over 6 billion people, therefore in order to start our analysis lets first focus on the preeminent society in our world. This is obviously the United States of America, a microcosm for the global community. I say this referring to the different levels of attainable financial success, access to adequate health care and education, and practical execution of governance that apply to different areas/poeple of our nation. How are we doing? How does the reality differ from the assumptions of our effectiveness in these areas? How many of us actually have some knowledge of the numbers and statistics, and how do these stats compare to other industrialized societies and past communities? There is a common realization that no system will ever be perfect, but this does not mean we should not work towards this goal. I associate this line of thinking to the old adage that you should aim for the sun and if you don't succeed at least you will be amongst the stars. Are we trying to succeed in totality or only enough to say we are doing something? These are questions that need to be answered through research and dialogue. I will start the dialogue by addressing education first. I have been through my entire scholastic career in this nation. I feel I have been afforded many oppurtunites through this process and always felt any career choice was attainable. From elementary school in Connecticut, to high school and college in New Jersey, education was stressed as a priority and a means to financial freedom. As I got older I started to realize that this was not the case for everyone in my generation. Later, while a junior in Rutgers University I got a job as a youth developer in New Brunswick, NJ. I was head of a college bound scholar program that provided vital services to a group of junior and senior students. These serivices included, but were not limited to tutoring, facilitating educational workshops, and providing key note speakers on subjects that ranged from alcohol to teenage pregnancies. These students lived with or around many of these circumstances in their immediate family. Their perseverencs through these factors was admirable. However, I begun to think what about the other students in the school who were not dealing with the surroundings as well. Students who not only were not on track to attend college, but were either barlely passing or not passing at all. What was the difference? Conventional thinking would attribute this to the amount of hard work put in by the students. This is very true, but what makes some students work hard to succeed acedemically and others not. Although there are numerous answers, I heavily attribute this difference to positive role models. If you take two students from similar circumstances and one has a mother, or father, or brother/sister, or coach, or elder family member or mentor who is looked up to and stresses education, I can virtually gaurantee that the chance for success increases by exponentially. Think about the reasons for this. Remember how easily influenced you were or your children were during their formative ages. I do not wish to consume your entire day with my thoughts, just spark some thoughts of your own. Therefore I will leave with that thought until tommorrow. Please feel free to share your thoughts, I assure you they are valued.