A Student in a Globalizing World

There is something exciting yet at the same time terrifying about globalization. It is exciting to me because with less borders, there is so much to learn and experience. There are more TV shows and YouTube videos I can watch; books I can read; and concepts I can reflect and build on. But globalization is also terrifying, because it reminds me of a thought Jose Rizal wrote in one of his books. In his book, there was a school that instructed in Spanish. And the persona in the book was concerned that the Filipino language would die out. Thankfully though, with Rizal’s books published, a revolution sparked and our culture and language lives on. 

As a student, globalization brings a lot of resources and comfort. With the internet, information is just a click away. Often times, when I want to clarify a process or topic, I would go on YouTube and search for tutorials. This has helped me in subjects like math and history. There are also a lot of reliable sources to learn from like Crash Course and Khan Academy. When it comes to comfort, globalization makes learning flexible. For example, we can work on activities at home and submit our works online. Aside from that, instead of going to libraries to look for a book, we can access online libraries. In addition, we can also take quizzes and exams through learning platforms like Blackboard and Edmodo. 

Globalization and the technology also allows us to communicate and collaborate with students and teachers faster and easier. For instance, there is a group paper we need to work on; we can just use Google Documents to see how everyone is contributing and progressing with the output. If we have questions or concerns regarding an assignment or a lesson, we can email our teacher about it. If there are upcoming events for our student organization, we disseminate information through our group chats and social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter. 

As a citizen of this country, Globalization really opens my eyes. I think the idea of having an open mind really roots into soft power. By soft power I mean culture, such as music, fashion, etiquette, film, literature, and sports. I recall seeing a post online. It had an elder person saying that we should be thankful to the government and they are working in our best interest. Then there was another post from a millennial saying that their generation grew up reading or watching Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, or the Divergent Series. And he asked why they would expect the youth to tolerate how the government actually acts. From this scenario, I can say that there is this call-out culture that make Millennials and Generation Z rather bold that they get from the stories they immerse themselves in. 

In basic senses, as a citizen, you belong to a country; you have duties to it. And if you belong to a country, you want to be proud of it and belong to it. However, if you are not happy with life here, then you would want things to change. This thought of wanting to make things better could be inspired by other cultures or seeing what the quality of life is in another country. Other countries practice divorce, have the capital punishment, allow same sex marriage, allow abortion, allow prostitution, allow recreational use of marijuana, and more. I think that nothing is absolutely ethical and unethical. I also think that each scenario is unique and of its own. However, there are trends that we can follow that worked to make citizens in other countries happier. 

Generally, I can say globalization makes me an ideal and better equipped person. I have come to realize that I have a number of wants and needs that I figured for myself and for the country. There is a chance that our cultures will blend and we can lose ourselves. But with globalization, there is also the chance to share our culture to the world and preserve it forever on the World Wide Web. There is also the chance to form online communities with the same advocacies. And with that, I am hopeful.  

05/04/2020 

Contemporary World