Flagstaff, Arizona
Could a town really change me as much as I think? Flagstaff, Arizona is one of the coolest towns that I have ever been, but at the same time; one of the quirkiest. Is Flagstaff a small mountain town, a big city, a hip university town, or a large industrial center? The environment and culture of Flagstaff is extremely diverse, making it difficult for outsiders to find their place in Flagstaff.
I often wonder how I ended up in this little town in the mountains. I came from a relatively large city in Indiana, but knew that I had to escape the Midwest’s conservative grasp. I never really intended to end up in Flagstaff. For as long as I can remember, I had wanted to go to the University of Arizona and live in Tucson. I obviously didn’t end up in Tucson.
From the first time that I visited Flagstaff, I knew that this town was special. Perhaps it holds more draw for outsiders than locals, but its environment and culture has definitely drawn me in, changed me, and changed my life.
When I decided to attend Northern Arizona University and be a Lumberjack, it was initially due to its reputation as the best teachers college in Arizona, but ironically, I have never been an education major, or taken any education courses. Education was an overcrowded field, so I entertained the idea of being a Computer Science major. Ha! That lasted less than a month before I knew that was going to fail.
Early on the path towards graduation, I still held a primarily etic point of view of Flagstaff. For about the first two years in Flagstaff, I viewed Flagstaff as a cool town, but still considered Indiana to be my home. I either didn’t realize or wasn’t allowing myself to become a part of this town.
Once I realized that I was part of this town, my notion of Flagstaff changed, and the town began to change me. As I began to understand how this town ticks I wanted to find a way to become a bigger part of this town. I understood that this town was heavily reliant on tourism for it economy. This is how I came to be a Parks and Recreation Management major.
Most people who grow up in Cincinnati cant wait to get out, but once they leave they can’t wait to come back because there is no other place like it. It has the small town “homey” feeling everybody grows to love, along with big city options that are easily accessible. Nobody ever wants to come to Cincinnati, but once they do, they realize how special it is, regardless of the territory. Its unique structure comes as surprise, yet, joyous experience and that’s what makes it special. East or West, North or South Who-Dey baby!
Nestled in the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg has become an area that East Tennessee State University students go to visit. Gatlinburg offers something for many; however, the city has some growing pains such as traffic and limited space. Thus, the city of Gatlinburg offers many things that a traveler could need and want, provided that he or she is willing to overlook the city’s rapid growth.
Many folks go their whole lives without having to move. For them it is easy; they know the same people, have loads of friends, and never have to move away from their families. As with me, I was in a different situation. I grew up my entire life, all eighteen years of it, in a small town called Yorktown, Virginia. In my attempt to reach out for a better life style, my girlfriend and I decided we were going to move to Shreveport, Louisiana. Through this course of action, I realized that not two places in this country are exactly alike. I struggled with things at first, but I found some comforts of home here as well.
Moving to a new community is exciting, especially one that’s as vibrant as Costa Mesa. Its Spanish name reflects its geographical feature, literally a coastal tableland that affords views of the Pacific Ocean, just one mile from its southernmost border. It is an ideal location with easy access to nearby Irvine and Anaheim, and only 37 miles for Los Angeles and less than 90 miles to San Diego – great for commuting to employment centers, shopping, entertainment, recreation and cultural attractions. Costa Mesa’s proximity to the Santa Ana River made it historically important to earlier settlers and cattle ranchers. Today, that same advantageous location makes Costa Mesa a major player in Orange County, attracting businesses and visitors. It is celebrated as “The City of the Arts,” the capitol of the actions sports industry, and home of Orange County’s top 20 revenue-generating retail centers.
Flagstaff is the definition of a mountain town. There isn’t a person in the city that hasn’t hiked, skied or snow-boarded down these giant mountains. Not only do the mountains make this city something unique, it’s also the people that live there.
It has been said that the grass is always greener on the other side. Being excited about the newness and challenges of a new place may not enable it to stay green for a lifetime, but the new place is a great place to spend the next four years. So even though I lived my whole high school life in one city where there were no actual problems, it still was time for me to move where there were new experiences.
The Great Irish Potato Famine was during a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration through 1845-1850. According to the journal, “The Context of Migration: The Example of Ireland in the Nineteenth Century” by James H. Johnson, this caused the population of Ireland to decrease 20-25% and it did not stabilize again until the 1930’s. Although there was a potato crop failure in Europe in the 1840’s, one third of the Irish population was dependent on this crop. This was inevitable due to the sole dependency of the Irish people on home-grown potatoes and the population almost doubling from 1800 - 1840. The journal, “Spaces for Famine: A Comparative Analysis in Ireland and the Highlands in the 1840’s” by Liz Young states that “if the crop was poor or failed, families could not manage and to compare, 50,000 people died when crops failed in 1817-1819.” The Irish people could not sustain could not sustain their diet of potatoes because they had not the means to buy more seed or, indeed, purchase the land on which to grow enough potatoes to feed their rapidly multiplying families for a year. As families increased in size, their excess produce, that previously would have given them a means to purchase livestock etc., was consumed. There were many factors that were involved in this catastrophe. The main causes were environmental conditions, agricultural practices and climate conditions, economic faults, and social and political trends. Social unrest and the history of Irish poverty was the direct cause of the Irish Potato Famine and the sole dependency on the potato crop which inevitably led them to starvation.
what I wanted to become. So after graduation I decided to explore my options at
The Great Famine of 1845 lasted for many years in Ireland. During this time, many people of Ireland suffered in numerous ways. In such devastating and dark times “deaths began to mount and tragic horrific scenes ensured all over Ireland: Mass Graves, Corpses gnawed by rats, hunger marches, and roadside deaths” (Kelley 137). In these grey times for Ireland, the country battled many hardships to overcome this era. The Great Famine was historically dated from 1845-1851, although the effects of the Famine lasted until 1852 (Kelley 136). The major cause of the Famine was a disease called the blight, but there were many other aspects that caused the catastrophe in Ireland.
The Grand Canyon holds many interesting secrets from the past people who have made the canyon their home. The Grand Canyon has kept these secrets for many years through the generations of people who have lived in those areas and the stories that these generations have told younger generations. I find it interesting how people have lived in those areas for so long, they have dealt with the changes of their home. I also find it interesting how the people who lived in these conditions and the items they used to cook and storage items are items that we are finding today. Their items have survived through years of season changes, they may be broken or scattered within an area but they have for the most part stayed intact. The Grand Canyon holds history and stories of the people who lived their lives there, to think that under the sand that has blown and covered these areas was a town or homes to people. The people who lived there had an understanding of the plants and animals of the area they lived; they learned by trial and error that in itself is interesting. They were not afraid of being wrong, they learned from their mistakes. They lived by hunting and living outdoors, as people in our society it seems weird to think of living the way the natives have lived their lives. As stated in the article the natives possessed an understanding of the seasons and the area that they lived in that is beyond our grasp (Coder 2000:6-7). They were interesting people from what they knew to how they lived. I find it interesting how times have dramatically changed, the natives that lived in the Grand Canyon lived with what they could make with their hands, and eat what they could hunt, and they had the necessities whereas we today go to a s...
Workplace diversity is having different people of different cultures, different languages, nationalities, and races, all working in an organization. When there is workplace diversity people are able to handle different types of situations because they probably handled a certain problem before so many times from where they come from. Throughout the years businesses have adapted to having more diversity in the workplace because of the benefits it offers. Workplace diversity helps organizations be productive, it builds a strong economy, and brings greater innovation, and moreover it leads to an organization making a profit.
1. Diversity is a difference between ranges of backgrounds. This including race, religion, color, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, age, education and skills. Diversity can easily impact the workplace because a person who can’t respect a differences, and deficiency of other employees, that can lead to racism, bullying, etc. The diversity in the workplace:
First of all, it is very essential to have employees from different backgrounds because they will start to accept the fact that there are different points of view, and also they will learn how to manage to work, all together, as a group without quarreling; in other words cultural diversity will enhance group functioning. Furthermore, multiculturalism makes an organization not only focus on a single market but also open to other various markets. In fact, a study has been conducted, and it perfectly proves the pros that cultural diversity has on companies. Simply, it shows how the presence of different cultures causes the majority of the employees to learn new skills, which affects the general performance of the organization. Also, it shows how this type of diversity leads to gaining access to and legitimacy with diverse markets and clients, making organizations more profitable. Another point proved by the study is that ethnic inclusiveness promotes justice among all employees because all workers have equal chances in hiring and promotion (Ely & Thomas, 2001). All in all, the research’s conclusions, the firm’s development and the employees’ opinions supported that fact that cultural diversity is one of the factors that affected the organizations
A recent topic of interest at an international level is the issue of female genital mutilation and or cutting. Female genital mutilation refers to “piercing, cutting, removing, or sewing closed all or part of a girl’s or woman’s external genitals for no medical reason.” (WomensHealth 2015). FGM affects the health of girls and women in negative ways; it causes implications for the reproductive and sexual health, as well as mental health. FGM is a violation of human rights of girls and women. FGM violates principles of equality and non-discrimination as well as the right to freedom from “torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. FGM also violates a person’s right to the “highest attainable standard of health” (WomensHealth 2015) considering
...t the strange thing was that it wasn’t my cocoon of a home that I missed. I had created a new life in the few short weeks that I had lived in Flagstaff. I found a family in the friends that I made, and wanted to see them again, ask them about their weekends and simply make sure that everything that I made was still there.