Thinking About Success

 I think that with hard work, skill, opportunity, and luck that you would be successful in the economy. Being successful in a job or anything comes with hard work. If you don't have the will to work, or you want to do it lazily then you won't have success. Skill is also important, even if you don't have skill in the start of your job, if you keep working hard you will gain your skill. Having opportunities in the job world means that you can get further faster in your job. If a good job opportunity arises then you would jump on it and you might get it if you have the will to work hard, and the skill that comes with working hard. Lastly to be the most successful is luck. To be lucky means that you just happen to be at the right place at the right time, it doesn't mean that you're going to continue with your lucky streak.

In today's reading I found that Zara, the Spanish store, is so successful because they are able to make sharp turns in the fashion industry to keep up with people's demands. Every week they make two trips to the stores and put new stuff out. They spend money to make money. They bought 14 new machines that work around the clock to keep up with cutting fabric and dyeing items. H&M, which is similar to Zara, sends out only 2 seasons and sub seasons within the seasons. They have people set up to check what consumers are wanting, similar to Zara which makes them successful with their customers. Being caught up to what is the latest trend is what keeps these companies alive. I do not like shopping there because of their unreliability of the outfit, in my opinion their clothing is a few time wear and be done with it. They do keep up with the trends and people like how quick they are to get on their feet and run with the newest idea of what's next. They're one step ahead of big names like Belk, Dillards or similar to them.

The Age of the City

Dear Mom and Dad,

The new city is much different from back home. The streets are crowded and it’s hard to breathe. When I got off the boat it was such a relief. It was cramped and lonely on the boat ride here. You told me it would be worth it to go to America so I endured the struggles I face. When I was on the boat I met one other person from our country. We spoke our native language which got us many looks from strangers. She was very scared as to what was going to happen when we got off the boat. After our ship had met land and we were filed off we set off to find others like our own kind. We would speak for awhile to see if anyone caught on and then we would stay quiet, trying to listen to others but it was difficult to hear over all the noise from shopkeepers, cars and horses going down the street. We did the process of speaking and listening for a few days, we slept on the streets, taking turns to make sure we were keeping each other safe. We walked up and down unfamiliar streets, attempting to read english signs but it was no use. We stumbled into weird neighborhoods on occasion. They attempted to communicate with us but it wasn’t working out on both sides. We found food out of garbage cans for a while, eating leftovers from bakeries.

Finally we found our native speaking neighborhood. It was like having a small piece of home in America. They had movies that played in our language, newspapers on what was going on back at home, food that we would have on a daily basis back there and we played games that we would play back at home. The majority of the people that we met were nice to us, they told us how to get a job, who to stay away from because it would get us in trouble and where we could stay until we found a job and learned how to speak enough English to get us around without a translator or struggling.

It has been a difficult first few weeks but with the help of everyone around us it has become easier and easier with each passing day. I have learned to speak some english, I have gotten a job at a local market, and a family has taken me in for the time being until I can start renting my own home or apartment. The Americans are kind of rough with us, they make us take tests on how well we’re understanding what is going on and if we are literate enough or if we are needing to be sent off again. Most everyone has passed their tests but they are kind of difficult sometimes. I got scared the first time they asked me questions about everything. But I soon got over my fear. I hope everything is okay at home. Maybe one day you two can come to America and see what I mean instead of just imagining it from a letter.

Love, your daughter