Session 12

Today was officially the final day of our TWC course and I must say I will miss this class. I think I chose the right subject for the first semester of my university life because it thought me to be more open to change and progress. I used to think that if an input brings a negative output, then we should forgo the input. However with TWC, I learn to compromise. If the input brings in certain positive outputs along with the negative, we should find a way to eliminate the negative outputs so that we can enjoy the positive outputs rather then eradicating the input as a whole. We live in times where change happens constantly and at exponential rates and we as future change leaders should learn how to be at the forefront of this pattern.

One of the groups that presented today talked about the drug problem and how legalizing them would be a possible solution. However there are certain problems that may arise as a result of legalizing the drug. For example, when I was in Amsterdam, I visited coffee shops that sold marijuana legally. However these coffee shops were also illegally selling other times of drugs like cocaine as well. The problem with legalizing one drug to be sold is that it becomes a gateway to other forms of drugs. These coffee shops in Amsterdam now have a platform to sell other forms of drugs, which in the long run I feel does not really help solve the problem as a whole. Of course economically in the long run, revenue generated from taxation of these legalized drugs will benefit the governments but it does nothing to solve the social problems that come with drug use. When you think about it, the fight against drugs will always be a never- ending battle. What we can do is to develop new and better ways using technology to effectively catch drug smugglers and sellers. The main point I’m trying to make is that it is impossible to legalize marijuana and assume that other drugs would not become more easily accessible. It is like alcohol. There are no illegal forms of alcohol because they are essentially the same thing but in different degrees of potency. Therefore if you legalize or ban one, you have to do the same for the rest.

My groups project was on holograms and the future it brings as a form of visual technology. The main reason why we were so excited about it was because of the massive potential that is has it terms of changing the way we function. Can you imagine communicating with your loved one where he or she appears as a hologram? You might not need because it will soon be reality. Before starting University and this course, I was under the impression that technology such as holograms and augmented reality are distant possibilities because these are things you only really witness in sci-fi shows. However when we started on our group project, I came to find out that I was misinformed. The technology is here and almost ready to use. The question is how can we use it to help the masses? How can we use it as future change leaders? We all definitely have the ability to answer that.

In conclusion, TWC has thought me to be more confident. If there is something that needs to change or an idea worth exploring, do not hesitate or think twice. Be the person that steps up to the challenge.