I have never understood politicians. Are they supposed to be economists or philosophers? Or should they be environmentalists instead? My questions have made me a dreamer who fights reality. While philosophy centers around the question What would be the best way to live ?, economics dictates how to live. Politics determine how these two will be applied. My dream is to learn to create a new way of doing politics, politics whose goals are to educate, to provide as much personal liberty as possible and to create a better reality. My questions predispose me to ask why people behave as they do. Taking I.B. Economics Higher and reading widely have reinforced my thinking and inspired me to find solutions. I favor macroeconomics, especially inflation and unemployment, as well as trade and sustainable development.

Reading The Economist keeps me informed of current events. However, coming from Venezuela with its serious poverty, the lack of factual coverage in The Economist and my Economics syllabus disappoints me. Journalists barely touch on the hopelessness, instead providing optimistic solutions. Few find a working philosophy similar to that of Medecins sans frontiers: help those who can no longer help themselves. Articles dealing with ethical topics in the Harvard Business Review satisfy my queries more. They speak of philosophy, politics, economics and the environmental situation as tools for changing today’s world by acting logically but carefully. It is my respect for people that makes me react strongly to ideas like Steven Levitt’s which treat abortion and events around it as economic issues in Freakonomics. He neglects the ethical/political dimensions; he leaves no room for the human being.

My father and mother raised my sister and me to consider ourselves no better than the kids we played with, the very poor kids who lived near our beach house and farm. Everyone deserves respect; an idea he engrained in us. He made certain we saw close-up the reality millions of people live daily: poverty. Yet, the poverty I have witnessed is nothing compared to that in other parts of the world. Living in Europe has not made me forget where I come from, though it has provided me an example of a society that cares for its people and its ecosystem.

Advocates for justice need strong communication skills and mastery of several languages if they are to solve problems. I speak only four languages, but they give me multiple souls. Through language I understand people and cultures better and I see their problems more precisely. I am determined to learn more languages.

I have been involved in activities, which require critical thinking, leadership, speaking up and care for others and our surroundings. From an early age I showed interest in the basic elements composing this idea of dreamer v. reality. I succeeded in helping increase the School’s janitors’ salaries, getting food to people with Huntington’s Disease and regularly participating in recycling programs. At my current school teachers oblige students to work independently and resourcefully. This has helped me mature and work for my own sake and satisfaction. My bruises come from playing hooker on the rugby team.

The UK with its ethnic diversity and degree courses correspond to my dreamer v. reality mind. The combination of all these elements suits the person I am and the person I want to be: the dreamer who fights reality. Surely these choices are the best way for me to acquire more experience in order to make the world a better place to live.