Some people believe that the result of things in this world is a sum of its parts.

As an ardent observer and student of life, I too, have shared this perspective. I remember hours and days taking apart machines, software, and information regarding organizations, human behaviour, processes, languages, and numerous other sources and topics all in search of how things work. By taking apart these components and observing how these pieces coordinated with each other, I hoped to understand how everything fits together and brings value to this world. Recently while speaking with my sister, we reflected on our experiences growing up as international students, travelling different countries and constantly changing locations, cultures, friends, and languages. As we continued she began to discuss our lack of identity we are of Chinese descent, born in Indonesia, grown in the Philippines, and educated in the United States. Her observations were very sensible, and I found myself pondering over our conversation deeply. What can I call myself? While putting together the pieces that make up the world, I had forgotten that I was also one of these pieces. Where do I fit and what is my place in this giant collection of components? Recounting the times I mingled with people of different cultures, I could not help but feel comfortable discovering new differences and joyful after gaining more pieces for the puzzle box in my mind called the world. What most people considered new or strange became commonplace to me, as I had encountered so many different things and collected so many different experiences. I grew accustomed to becoming the bridge between cultures and people, because I knew and understood both perspectives. The difficulties began when I had to consider my own perspective. If each persons deeply rooted cultural perspective should be called an island, what was my island? I began to consider that perhaps I did not have one, but I was merely floating and being cast around by the waves. However, coming to Australia and living in a multi-cultural community has created in me a sense of direction and identity I have not felt before. Identity here is not a culture or set of principles or beliefs that I had to follow or understand, but something created through the open interactions of different components connecting and creating new, shared values that bind new pieces together. Here, I discover that components of the world are not separate and unaffected by each other, but work together to create even greater value than each piece summed separately. My lack of identity was not the absence of my own values, because my value is connection transforming the question from how do things work? into how do things work together? This era of globalisation has enabled more and more people to appreciate the value of how things work together. I believe that the English language, as well

as computer technology is at the forefront of answering this question for many, by enabling the rapid development of how people are able to connect with each other: through a united and massive channel of communication. Through its great multi-cultural community driven by real-world industry standards derived from leaders of its field, I believe Swinburne is the most suitable location for my passionate pursuit to discover: how do things work together?