Initially, we didn’t believe that we had much of a stake in International Relations at all. We’re just two college students, and the world is so big and complex, we found ourselves wondering, how can we really make any difference in it? Well we realize that we actually have the ability to influence IR, and do so without even realizing it. First of all, as a consumer, the choices of products we use, foods we eat, clothes we wear, and technologies we enjoy, all influence not only the American economy, but often times the economies of other country’s as well. The trend in UGG boots is a good example, and a phenomenon we ourselves partook in. The sale of UGG boots may have helped to stimulate the Australian economy, which may have helped to boost Australia’s international position among other nations. As a citizen, we vote in elections which determine those who govern this country, which in turn determines what stance our country takes towards other nations. As a student, Christina studies Spanish which makes her yet another Spanish speaker in the growing numbers of Spanish speakers in America, which can be seen as both a negative and positive attribute, and can tend to color people’s perception towards immigration policies. Emily studies French as well, which has different implications because the relations between America and French speaking nations are different than those with Spanish speaking nations.   As students engaging in a liberal education, we are taught to be open minded and accepting of other cultures. This has the potential to influence international relations as we will go on to travel (hopefully in abundance) to other countries and be a (hopefully positive) representation of an American. What we are taught, not only in college, but by my parents, peers, and the media also color’s our views of other nations, which in effect influence our personal relationship with those nations. Because of the hostile atmosphere in parts of Africa, we will most likely travel to the parts of the continent that we feel certain are safe. For example, Emily has been to Africa twice (Morocco and South Africa) and tried to get the least-”touristy” view of the two countries; however, there are only a handful of places deemed safe to go in those two countries.  On an even more basic level, when we travel to different nations, just as people from a different country, our interactions with others serves as a representation of America to the people we meet in that foreign nation. Our interactions have the capability to push others to form opinions and perspectives (either positive or negative ones) that establish how a nation as a whole views America. The point is, our perspectives influence our actions, which in turn can influence international relations.