While doing research for this class this week, I noticed something that I never really paid attention to. I noticed that my neighborhood was such a commercialized area. It seemed like there were small businesses than places to live. I really never realized this because I have lived in Flatbush all my life so it always felt normal for me to be bombarded by advertisements, people handing out flyers, people sliding flyers under my apartment door and seeing business signs everywhere. I also learned that  there are many self-starters in my area. The amount of independent businesses outweighs the amount of major business chains. There are a lot of restaurants owned by regular people that have lasted just as long if not longer than major food chains. There is another small business in my neighborhood called Bulletproof which has lasted since I was a child. It is a video game and comic book store that is still thriving even with big name stores such as Target and Gamestop moving in that sell the same products. This goes to show that it is possible for normal hardworking people to succeed against the machines as long as they continue to sell great products and get support from the community.