I went through three different simulations of the Millennium Village. I ran into the same problem all three times. I kept running out of money. As a finance major this has me worried for my future both academically and professionally. Luckily I was never fully intending on going into finance as a career. I tried three different approaches to solve my money issues. I took out no loans in the first run through, the maximum loans in the second run through, and only the necessary amount to buy bed-netting, a better stove, and good seeds the third time. Nothing worked. I also experimented with the small business investment option. I tried three different approaches, but again none of them really worked. My largest struggle was raising money for the town. My initial thought was to build up a strong infrastructure for the citizens to have by taking on debt and repaying it when the economy got strong. However, I was never able to get to the point where I was able to properly invest in the town’s infrastructure. If I had to identify my biggest problem it would probably be my lack of patience. The issue is twofold. I am not a naturally very patient person and I happened to be doing the simulation late at night after a long day. I knew going into the simulation that I would probably fail miserably. But, I did not think it was going to be because of money. I figured I would end up creating a barren landscape devoid of any resources. I am pretty sure I was well on my way to that outcome but alas money was my limiting factor. The simulation was pretty fun to do and I intend on trying it again before class on Tuesday.

My respect for decision makers has risen. I was tasked with caring for virtual people in a made up place and I failed miserably within a few years. It really puts it into perspective that our leaders are trying their best but will still inevitably fail or encounter bumps along the way. We are all only human. While I understand it can be hard to break through the partisan curtain, I believe that if we see each other as people first and what we believe comes second that the world would be a better place. Obviously exceptions exist to seeing others as people first, namely if they are fascist, antisemitic, racist, etc. As I write this I realize the unlikeliness of the ideal outlined above to come to pass. Every individual has a different set of values and threshold to which they can and cannot overlook certain views to see another individual as an equal. Hopefully we all can just make our best effort to show each other a little kindness and see where the world comes out on the other side. (I am aware that most of this probably makes no sense).