Ling has wanted to be a doctor since she was a little girl. She loved watching medical television shows, she would often "doctor" her pets, and spent hours looking at specimens in her microscope.

Ling also wants to buy a car. Her family can't afford to buy one for her, so she knows that she'll have to come up with the money herself. She knows she needs to find a part-time job, probably at a fast-food restaurant (it's about the only place in town that will hire a teenager), but she's concerned about how working part time will affect her grades at school. She knows if she doesn't maintain a good grade average, the chances of her getting accepted to her college of choice will be diminished.

The following is Ling's strategy for arriving at a decision: