There are four economic concepts illustrated by the events of my life. These concepts are either concepts that I use on a regular basis, or I can identify how I can employ these concepts in the future. The four concepts are as follows: barrier to entry, the shutdown decision, positive/negative externalities, and opportunity costs.
             October 25, 1983 was the day I was born, and my "barrier to entry" to this world certainly was not an easy one. My mom was put on complete bed-rest during most of her pregnancy. Also, I was born two months premature, weighing in at 4lbs and 13 ounces, yet somehow the biggest newborn in the premie unit at the hospital. When I think of barrier to entry, I think of "us" as "competitors" or a "business." We are constantly competing or selling a part of ourselves to the world around us. The girl who sits to the left of me in class and I are competitors if we apply for the same job position. During that very interview we have to sell who we are to our potential employer. All the difficulties my mom endured during her pregnancy and labor are barriers. Barriers that made my birth difficult and almost prevented me from being born, but here I am. This concept I see every day, right where I work. I take care of the developed mentally disabled, many of whom had a rough "barrier to entry", a barrier that they live with every day. Yet they are still living, learning, thriving and growing everyday.
             I lived in Milwaukee all of my life, until three years ago when I moved to the Oak Creek area. I'm the oldest of four siblings. I have a twenty-four year-old sister, an eighteen year-old brother and a thirteen year-old brother. I attended Zablocki Elementary School, John Audubon Middle School and Hamilton High School in Milwaukee. I graduated from high school in 2002 and attended Milwaukee Area Technical College located in the the downtown campus in 2003. Although I did really well, I only completed a semester du...