Entry 27: Personal, But Not Selfish

When talking about your issue topic a number of you expressed its importance to you in terms that, on the surface, might seem a bit selfish. Remember that the goal of the issues paper is to impress the college admissions officer that you are an engaged person who is aware of the world around you and concerned about other people. Use this journal entry to try to extend your interest in your chosen interest beyond simple self-interest. How can you use it to show that you care not only for yourself, but for your fellow human beings?

• The issue topic that I expressed during class was actually both personal and international. It can seem selfish on some certain levels, but it can also include the international world. My issue is not directly concerned with global warming and its effects, but mostly with the climate patterns of the last decade and exactly what is happening in the present day, and how people are reacting to it. It is personal to me because in the future, I might be one that has to go to these places that are strongly influenced by the weird, irregular, and unpredictable climate patterns. I do not want to be influenced by the climate then because one) it is very cold and I will have to wear lots of clothes (maybe layers of clothes that will make me look like an oversized onion) and 2) it would be extremely uncomfortable not only because it is very cold (or actually, it can be very hot), but also because wearing that many layers of clothes when it is extremely cold is hard to move in. This does not only apply to me, but also to others internationally. For example, the currently trend of snow in Japan is making it hard for the people in Japan to move about through their own neighborhood, and they also have to wear large amounts of clothing and shovel the snow away so that transportation and communication is actually allowed. Therefore, even though this topic may seem to be on a very personal or selfish level, it is actually also on a very international level since many people in the world are affected by it.