Taking Stock of Our Valuables
Every once in a while,a situation presents itself to you, and in so doing, however unwittingly, that situation tests your resolve, challenges your moral fiber and forces you to examine (or re-examine) your values.
When things like these happen, one of two things may be the result: you will try to ignore the situation until it absolutely HAS to command your attention, or you will rush to a decision so that you don't have to think about it for too long. I have a theory about why these two possible reactions are so prevalent. And here it is:
There are simply not enough moments in a teenager's day to give the appropriate attention to the notion of what he or she values. Not to mention the word itself, values, is such an abstract term that who really has to time to ponder its meaning AND the implications AND live the life of a carefree kid?
So, as a result of my theory, this blog question was born. I would like you to really let the questions I am presenting here have some time to marinate so that you can reach a deeper level of understanding.
What DO you value? Please don't say things such as "friends, family, or iPhoneX in rose gold." Those things are just that--things (yes, even the people). While they have surface value, they are not what I am talking about. Why? Because, in order to get to the deeper understanding of yourself and your actual values, you have to ask yourself WHY you consider those things valuable. We already know the selfish answer to what makes the people in our lives valuable--we need them. That's why I don't want you to list people.
Because, now, you have to ask yourself a two-part, very fundamental question:
1)What makes you so mad you could scream? What fills you with unabashed joy?
and
2)Why do you have those reactions to what you listed?
The sum total of those answers is the amorphous notion of your values.
These are hard questions, and like all hard questions, the answers may take a while to come and you may have to write it as you're thinking about it. Please do so, because I would be willing to bet that all of us could benefit from your thought process as well as your answers.
Buena Suerte.
When things like these happen, one of two things may be the result: you will try to ignore the situation until it absolutely HAS to command your attention, or you will rush to a decision so that you don't have to think about it for too long. I have a theory about why these two possible reactions are so prevalent. And here it is:
There are simply not enough moments in a teenager's day to give the appropriate attention to the notion of what he or she values. Not to mention the word itself, values, is such an abstract term that who really has to time to ponder its meaning AND the implications AND live the life of a carefree kid?
So, as a result of my theory, this blog question was born. I would like you to really let the questions I am presenting here have some time to marinate so that you can reach a deeper level of understanding.
What DO you value? Please don't say things such as "friends, family, or iPhoneX in rose gold." Those things are just that--things (yes, even the people). While they have surface value, they are not what I am talking about. Why? Because, in order to get to the deeper understanding of yourself and your actual values, you have to ask yourself WHY you consider those things valuable. We already know the selfish answer to what makes the people in our lives valuable--we need them. That's why I don't want you to list people.
Because, now, you have to ask yourself a two-part, very fundamental question:
1)What makes you so mad you could scream? What fills you with unabashed joy?
and
2)Why do you have those reactions to what you listed?
The sum total of those answers is the amorphous notion of your values.
These are hard questions, and like all hard questions, the answers may take a while to come and you may have to write it as you're thinking about it. Please do so, because I would be willing to bet that all of us could benefit from your thought process as well as your answers.
Buena Suerte.
I value life and what I do with it. I value happiness,kindness and my relationship with God. I know that you said not to say friends but because I value life and my happiness I value my friends. Life and what people do with it is so important, simple mistakes can turn everything upside down. Not being happy and being a negative nancy the entirety of life can seriously ruin how you view the world. Especially how you view friends and jobs. Happiness gives a whole new meaning and understanding of life. I learned that my freshmen year and it changed everything for me. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn't for happiness and that positive outlook. That sounds super cheesy everyone says that but it made me who I am today. It made me enjoy life again when I felt like I never would again. I value my relationship with God because if it wasn't for him I would be the same way I was before. I love where I am so much and it’s all because of God. I wouldn’t have been who I am or where I am if I didn’t have God. God plays such a huge role in my life in so many ways. Something that makes me so angry I could scream is when people are just down right rude. I have my moments but there are just some people who I don’t understand. For example today in the hallway this kid was getting pushed and because of that he pushed another girl. This girl turns around and literally says “ can you stop pushing me you're too big anyway”, Which first of all makes no sense and second all she literally called a kid fat for bumping into her. I don’t know her parents or what's going on in her home but you don’t treat people like that.There is of course the girls that call each other all these awful things or the guys who make awful comments about girls . Or the people who say really rude things about people they don’t even know, just because they look a certain way. Another example of people being mean is I often sit with people who sit alone. I kind of just have a table full of kids that other people reject. I don’t mind I really just say hello and talk to my friends. But when I do this I always get people giving me weird looks. People eyeing my table because they don’t really like the people at it. Who I choose to sit with doesn’t affect anyone else's life except mine. Anyway it just really gets under my skin when people are really just rude and standoffish. It makes me so upset because no one knows what goes on at some people's home. You have no idea what people are going through. They have some nerve attacking someone for probably a dumb reason or for no reason. No matter what you think or who you are ( unless you're a rapist or a murderer) you don’t deserve to be talked down to or ridiculed for the way you look or act.
ReplyDeleteLove and kindness brings me unabashed joy. When I mean kindness I don’t mean donating to a food bank or feeding the homeless which are very kind things, I mean like little kindness acts. I mean very little the ones that are so small the person doing it might not even realize it. For example last year in English I had a very closed friend group. I had four friends who I really only talked to them. So when a girl ( who has a lot of friends I guess you would call her popular) I didn’t associate with me said hi to me and my name it made me happy. This might sound really cheesy and dumb but that's just me. Little things like that make me really happy. Just simply going out of your way to say hello to people you don’t normally talk to. When people I don’t talk to ask me questions or my opinion it really brings me joy, I’m not exactly sure why but it just does. I wonder everyday why this makes me so happy but I really don’t know.
I value staying true to myself. Although sometimes especially in high school it may be hard to do, I try my best to be who I know I am and remain the same person I know is true. The reason I value that is because I think it's important to know my limits, morals, and have self respect. I have learned throughout my life, more recently throughout high school that it is necessary to be happy with the person you are. I also value taking care of my mental health. School is very stressful on me and sometimes my home life can be as well but when I play softball it acts as a stress reliever for me because it is something I love to do. More than anything being in the right mental state is important. A lot of people find it hard to keep up on mental health, which it can be but it is something everyone should take seriously and I especially do. It makes me extremely mad when people do not take into consideration the fact that a joke to you could actually hurt someone on the inside and that could affect their mental health tremendously. High school is a place where that occurs more than anything else and it is given the cold shoulder because no one really pays attention to it. I feel like that makes me so mad because mental health issues run in my family so I know what it looks like and I see the affects it has on people, its hard and people who don't have to go through that don't realize the toll it takes. I feel like it's hard for people to come forward and talk to someone about how they feel especially if they don't have any close relationships or they don't want to be judged and thats why I think it makes me so angry to see people neglect the feelings of others for their own entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought about the deeper meanings of "value", nor have I thought much at all about what I value. After taking some time to thoroughly think on this, I have come to the realization that I truly value freedom and love, more than I realized. To somewhat emphasize my answer, let me explain to the best of my tiny ability. I really, truly value love, both platonic love and romantic love (you could say I also love love hahahahaaaaa). I always get this super extremely happy feeling thinking about the guy I love, and just that one feeling and get me through a hard time. The love my friends give me, I try my best to cherish. I always try to never, ever take any of the people I love for granted. They've always been there for me, I've always been there for them. Without any of this love (both types), I would feel a ginormous hole within my heart. Just thinking about it makes my chest suddenly feel heavier than I've ever felt before.
ReplyDeleteThe freedom I'm referring to isn't exactly the United States freedom, although I'm also grateful for that as well. But the freedom I'm talking about is the freedom I rarely receive, because whenever I do have that freedom, I try to live in the bliss of the moment for as long as possible. I can't exactly create a specific definition of the freedom I value, but I can attempt using examples. Sometimes, and may I emphasize the SOMETIMES, I have more freedom at school than I do at home, which is the freedom I enjoy. So, I'd say, probably any freedom from my home I cherish (I do cherish my home as well, but this freedom means more to me most of the time).
There are plenty of things that equally make me so mad, fed up, frustrated, or angry. Some of them aren't just things that currently happen or will probably happen in the near future, but sometimes they are things from my past. To list a few memories that make me want to scream my voice dry or cry my eyes out are when my older brother and older sister decided to leave my family and hardly speak a word to us. Or when my 13-year-old dog died almost two years ago, I was at school when he was taken to the vet to be put down, and I came home without him there to greet me like he usually did. I felt so angry at myself that I couldn't tell him goodbye or how much I loved him and how he was such a good boy and the best dog to exist in my life. Or when one of my friends had died in a car accident over spring break in 8th grade back in Virginia, I also didn't get to tell him goodbye or tell him that he was a great friend. Or recently when my best friend of nine years decided I'm a whole bunch of awful things and to leave me as well. A lot of times I just get mad at myself for not being good at anything.
I love the feeling of joy, it's probably one of the best feelings to ever exist in me. I get the feeling whenever I'm with my friends, talking to them, even working with them. I get this feeling whenever I'm around dogs, or see pictures of dogs, or hear dogs, or think of dogs. I also get this feeling when I think of the guy I love, when I'm with him, talking to him, or messeging him. I get joy from books, old Disney cartoon animated animal movies, really great songs from musicals like "Be More Chill", and from pizza and rootbeer. I guess it seems like I get joyful pretty easily, but I really don't, so I cherish every moment I'm joyful.
It seems to me that I get upset and mad when those certain things happen to me because I want them to go away, or I wish they hadn't happened, or I question what I did wrong or what's wrong with me, or what I had done to deserve it. I get super happy and full of joy with THOSE other certain things because I don't feel alone, I feel loved and can give love back with the most amazing results. I'm glad I'm here to be able to even talk about these things and be grateful for everything I love.
I immediately know that I value mental health the most. It is one of those things I’ve struggled with when I was younger and have come to appreciate now. I value the stability of a healthy mind. Without our mental health, we would all be crazy (or at least more crazy than we already are). I have learned through anxiety and the years I spent not in the right frame of mind that a healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body. If your body is not healthy, that can be life threatening. What some do not realize is if your mind is not healthy, this is also just as life threatening.
ReplyDeleteI would rather not go into details about my journey through mental health, I’m going to save it for an occasional paper. However I know if I did not have the love and support that I do today from friends and family, my life would be unrecognizable to who I am right now. I know I surely am not the timid sixth grader that I once was. I have forced myself to be outgoing and to live life with a meaning. There are still times where I want to curl into a cocoon and reverse time so I could go back and change what I did or what I said, but I also don’t regret anything. I have come to accept my words and actions instead of dwell on them. I have learned to appreciate my worth although at times I forget, those close to me keep me on track.
Some make it seem like this is an overnight turn-around, but I can tell you from experience that it’s not. When I found out I had anxiety, I felt like I was crazy. I will get more into why I felt that way in an occasional essay, but that was my ignorance showing. I had a preconceived notion of what mental illnesses were and what the people were like who had them. It’s obvious now that my thoughts about it are completely opposite from then, but it took some time and effort to get here. Over the years I have seen myself mature and ultimately become a better person to others as well as myself and I have my mental health to thank for that.
1)Ignorant and close-minded people make me want to scream. Very loud. In their face. On the contrary, spending time with friends and certain family members makes me incredibly happy.
2)When I am talking to someone who is very close-minded or ignorant, I cannot hold a good conversation. It will turn into an argument or be cut short VERY quickly because I consider myself to have an open mind. When someone refuses to see things from a different perspective other than their own, it infuriates me and makes me want to scream at them. However when I talk to someone who is able to be accepting of others thoughts and beliefs, I tend to enjoy those conversations and leave them feeling uplifted or enlightened.
I value having fun. you are living a life where it is impossible to reverse your age and become young again. Having fun is a big value in my life because I can make memories that will last a lifetime doing something adventurous. With fun comes friends and they are a big part of having the best time of your life. I have amazing friends and this past summer I did everything with them and I don't regret a thing. Friends are a big safety in my life because my parents recently got divorced. They are the people I can rely on and know they have my back. When you get to high school you grow apart from some people and find your new crowd. You also try a lot of new things such as parties. Not saying go and party, but they are a big step in your teenage years. Fun to me is trying something new, something that you can tell stories about and tell your kids so they can think that you were wild and cool. As a 16 year old now I am half way done high school and have the world ahead of me. Nobody knows what is going to happen the day after tomorrow or any days after that, so you have to live your life to the fullest. You never know what will happen.
ReplyDeleteIn a blink of an Eye something could change your life forever, but you will never know what until it happens. It makes me mad when people just sit in their rooms and study for school and take everything so seriously. They have their whole life planned out and they are only a teenager. The type of people I want to surround myself with are the ones who go on adventures, go out with friends, and even socialize without asking any math or English question because they are living in the moment. I believe everyone can have a little fun in their lives no matter what. Nothing lasts forever and we can't predict the future, so live and love life.
Your values are the most important thing about you, that we as people have trouble knowing what they are. Took me a good amount of time to come up with my values, but here they are. I value love, loyalty, and open-mindedness. Love is the single strongest bond in the world. In makes your do crazy things, and when I see people in love I have not one rude thing to say about it. The idea that there is one thing that brings people together, and makes them undeniably happy, makes me happy. The connection I have with certain people is sometime the main reason I get up every morning. Loyalty is extremely important to me. If I open up apart of me to you, trust you, and make you apart of my life then you need to be loyal to me. I only have one friend who I expect loyalty from, and who I am loyal to. There's nothing worse you can do to me than if I were to give you my full trust, and you betray me. My last most important value is open-mindedness. I hate having conversations with people who in the end will keep their same bigoted opinions. It's a waste of my time entirely. I use my words to try to inspire people, not for them to hear what I said, and still find no value in it. These are the values that make me, and it's good to finally put words to who I am.
ReplyDeleteI value many things in life but I couldn't tell you all of them that would take forever. I value having Happiness and courage. Happiness is well...happiness It's just the overall good feeling you get sometimes. It can be summoned by many different things for many different people. My happiness comes from personal achievements and other people. I know you said not to say people but I do value friends and family because they give me happiness. I enjoy laughing with them and genuinely having a good time. I can have the time of my life if I'm with my friends. I also get happiness from my achievements. Whether it be good grades, athletic achievements , or simply acquiring something I have been working towards. I also value courage. I value the courage in myself that I have developed to take chances. I realized that in my past that I was too scared to take chances and I missed out on many opportunities that may have changed my life for the better. But I promised myself I would change that and that decision has made my life exponentially happier. Betrayal makes my blood boil. When I trust someone with some for example like a secret and they go off and tell someone else, I become flooded with rage. Trust with that person has ceased to exist until the end of time. There are no exceptions. What fills me with joy is spending time with my friends. They make me laugh and give me happiness. I don't know what I would do without them. I like to surround myself with people. This is evident in where I usually pick my seats in class. I usually sit in the middle towards the back with people all surrounding me. I just enjoy being around friends.
ReplyDeleteIn life we have values: some big, some small, or even stupid things with value. Personally, I value the house I live in, the most. This is the home that I grew up in, it holds all the memories from as far as I can recollect, it's where I feel safe, it's where I'm most loved. My house is old and cracking in the corners but there's no place I'd rather be. To me it resembles my grandmother, her reaching out to give me a hug every single time I open the door to walk into her house. She worshipped this house. And now it's all we have left of her. In this house is my family: my grandfather, for example, my most favorite human being on earth, the man that has picked me up when I was down, the man who taught me right from wrong, the man who is so hard to love but whom I love unconditionally. To me, he resembles my heart, without him I don't know what I’d do or where I’d be right now. This house means my life, which I value so much as well. I was put on this earth for a reason and whether or not I know that reason now, my life is still something I treasure. Every decision I make and how it can affect me, or anything that has ever crossed my path to make me the person I am today. Good or bad I value, it has shaped me. I wouldn't be me without my constant smile, or my stupid jokes but what led up to these things has changed me for the rest of my life. For this I value my life, the decisions I make, the love and comfort I receive from my family and the safety I get from my house.
ReplyDeleteMad isn't even close to the words I have for today's society. All teenagers believe we are entitled to everything we encounter, no, we all are guilty of this. We need to learn when to be quite, get off our phones, and respect one another. I am ashamed to be part of this society if this is how we all act. The fact we're missing out on so much opportunity by the devices in our hands and yet we can't put them down long enough to have a conversation with the person in front of us. Our world is so formed around technology, everyteenager believes, “My phone” comes before anything. We don't respect each other with our phones, in fact behind a screen is where most bullying occurs. On the contrary, seeing true love in this generation makes me extremely overjoyed. Not many people have enough heart to love someone else, most of our society is too narcissistic to love anyone but themselves. Though the ones that do love, love unconditionally and that's one of the best things to witness.
Values. Values. Values. It was like a song I couldn't get out of my head then I started thinking to myself what do I value or even do I value anything. I know some people may put their families and friends but to me I value morals and hobbies. Now you're probably thinking why those two and it is honestly very simple. To me morals define who you are not your credit limit, gender,sexuality and race. Morals are something that you decide yourself and that no one person can take from you. You decide if you want to be nice or mean, you decide if you want to be brave or cowardly, you decide and it's your freedom. Currently your most likely thinking to yourself that makes sense but where does hobbies fit into it. Hobbies are something that brings you joy and is something that you love to me that is swim but to someone else that could be reading. Your hobby is what brings you happiness and is a way that you can express yourself. Together morals and hobbies makes up you, your friend, a stranger and myself and it is something that can never be taken away.
ReplyDeleteI value loyalty, honesty, confidence, happiness, comfort, friendship and love. Without loyalty or honesty, how would you even trust yourself? Confidence is a major value; I feel as though you are able to value more the more confident you are in yourself. I value happiness, which I feel comes with confidence as well as other core values such as friendship and love. I believe that love empowers and encourages the growth of our other values in life. All of these values tie in with one another in a way.
ReplyDeleteBeing lied to makes my blood boil. It doesn’t matter if you tell me the truth prior to the lie or if I find out myself (which is usually how it happens). Although, it makes me so mad that I can’t scream. I may be screaming so loud inside, but I'd be at a loss for words. I feel as though I react this way because of the disrespect lying brings. If you can look me in my eyes and lie to me while being fully aware of what you’re doing, you already don’t respect me, so I immediately lose respect for you. Being lied to hurts, especially when the act is being done by loved ones or “close friends”, and the hurt changes you. Being lied to changed my view on a lot of things, and effected my trust in general. After past experiences, I have major trust issues; which is why I value loyalty and honestly so much.
Being happy with myself brings me unabashed joy. I’ve gotten so much more confident in the last year, and confidence is something I’ve had more than many struggles with growing up. There are still times where I feel small, and I let myself get to my head, and I work on this flaw of mine every day. When I’m truly happy with myself is when I’m truly happy all around, which is why I value happiness. Being comfortable with someone brings me unabashed joy, and that may sound odd. The fact that I have people in my life who are honest with me no matter how much the truth may hurt and people who make me feel more confident in myself and support me in anything and everything every day is comforting. This kind of comfort brings happiness, and this comfort and happiness is why I value friendship and love.
What I value is happiness, and success. I value happiness because it brings joy and fun to me and many others around me in many of the things that I do, which is key to me since I like having fun and being happy, who doesn't honestly? Happiness is something that I love to have and cherish when it comes around. Whether I am hanging with friends, doing sports, or simply chilling with my brother listening to music and playing the game. As long as I am happy and enjoying doing it then im set. I also value success, and the reason I value success is because, being successful to me shows that you're doing the right thing, that you know what you are doing, and you're on the right track and that’s how I try to be in numerous things that i do, most of the time. What makes me so mad I could scream is when I thought I did something right or I proceeded to do something, then I find out whatever I did was wrong, and I have to start from the beginning of whatever it was that I was doing.This can leave me frustrated at times since I have to do it again and start over from the beginning, which in some cases tends for me to not do it immediately afterwards, however on the bright side at least I know that I am doing it right the second time. What fills me with joy is when everything in a certain activity or situation in general connects, and I can just go with the flow and chase my ambitions, without many problems that pop up that cannot be handled with ease. I have these reactions because that is how they make me feel in certain types of situations and how I react to them is what makes me who I am.
ReplyDeleteI value trust and my own happiness. The moments that I have with people where just recalling the memory creates an adrenaline rush, or a feeling of security and calmness, good moments with good people who I love. I value the smells of rain and freshly cut grass because they remind me of a time when I was happily playing in puddles or the grass as a kid. I value memories because I honestly don’t remember much and whatever sticks with me has a strong emotion usually attached to it. So happiness is what I value the most and its security lies with the people I trust and can spill my feelings out to. There are five people in my life that I consistently count on my sister, my uncle, my coach, and my two best friends and that is because they don’t judge me or make me feel insecure or small or stupid. They respect me when I ask for space and they’re always there for me when I’m completely melting. What makes me incredibly angry is when people see me and judge me immediately. I’ve gotten comments like “oh you’re a little white girl there’s no way you’re a fighter” or “oh if you fight then you must be too stupid to do anything else” those are just the most common. I’ve gotten blonde jokes and such but they’re not as aggravating as being called stupid. My whole entire life how my parents treated me depended on how well I did in school; so being called stupid makes me incredibly insecure and I almost question my worth because it has been the defining factor my whole entire childhood. I may not have the best memory and can’t spout facts out like a computer, but I’m not stupid or weak and I hate the my appearance to people defines that. Spending time with those five people and my dogs fills me to the brim with happiness, I actually become loud and outgoing with them and I just feel carefree, I feel safe, and I’m happy. I always find my sister making me laugh until a snort or my friends and I going out and trying new things. They pull me out of my shell and I love that. I love being with people that make me feel free to go outside of my comfort zone and we all sort of drive one another. My coach constantly motivates me and whether I win or lose he’s always there to make me smile or smile harder. It feels like a complete family and I feel whole when I’m around these people. The feeling of completeness, happiness, and security are what I value.
ReplyDeleteIn our busy lives, most of us never really stop and think about the non-materialistic things we value today. To me, gratitude and happiness are things we should all value in life.
ReplyDeleteHaving gratitude is important because you should always realize how good you have it and how regardless what might be going on in your life; there is someone out there going through the same thing but 10x worse. My value of gratitude reminds me that what I have today can be taken away at any time tomorrow. Therefore, staying humble and having gratitude is always something to value. I personally value this because I know what it feels like to take someone for granted/be selfish and not appreciate the things I had, until they were gone.
I feel like everyone should always be happy. You should never have to force happiness upon yourself because if you do; it's not real. Happiness is an inner quality and a state of mind. If your mind is at peace, you are happy. If you have everything the world can give like pleasure, possessions, power but you dont have peace of mind, you just can't be happy. I believe this to be true because there was a time in my life when I was trying to give myself unrealistic reasons to fake a smile or to "be happy". Until I realized that not only do you need to be at a stable and peaceful state of mind first, but that sometimes a person can come into your life and make all of your hurt numb and all of your worries go away. They can bring the happiness you looked to seek, right to you and keep you humble and happy.
I value so much in life, much of what I value is rare to find like a good friend, however some of my values occur in my everyday life and I take them for granted.
ReplyDeleteI value friendship. Of course I value the the people closest to my heart, however it's their presence I value most. Being surrounded by others eliminates loneliness. If I'm ever upset, I need to get my feelings out. Most people can keep a diary to release things they may be holding in, but for me it's a little bit different; I don't feel like I have released anything until I have vented to someone else, and finding people you can say anything to is harder than it sounds. It becomes frustrating when you do not trust someone, or they don't want to hear about something for the third time. It's also often important to build a foundation of memories with someone before I can release anything and everything on my mind without holding back. This kind of person is few and far between. I have come across about ten people that I have been able to call a best friend and very few have stuck around.
Another aspect of my life I value (not to be cliché or repetitive for those who know me well) is dance. It would not matter if I just won the lottery, or if my cat had just died, or if my day was completely ordinary, because when I step into the studio the outside world disappears. Unlike the real world, in the dance world all my problems are solvable with hard work. Dance gives me a sense of freedom and discipline simultaneously. Dance also gives me a purpose, something to look forward to. When life is beating me down and it seems like everyone has left me, dance is the one thing I can always turn to, because unlike people dance will never leave me.
Adventure is something I probably value above all else. Friendship is adventure, dance is adventure, and life is adventure. Even if one day I end up with nothing I'd like to reflect on my life and see positive memories. I think it's important to let go sometimes and forget about your job, or your APUSH homework and focus on living. You live once and I want to be fully prepared at all times to die (as morbid as that sounds), because regardless of if I die tomorrow or in fifty years, I want to die knowing that my life was full of adventure and moments that cannot be replaced by money, or a test score. I value the littlest moments in life that make this pathetic world a place worth living in.
In conclusion I value anything that makes forget about the struggles in life. I value anything that brings me happiness or release. I value the parts of life I spend truly living.
I just realized I wrote an essay lol
DeleteWhat I value most is my time alone. While I don't consider myself an introvert, I do value time to myself. As a high school student and athlete, my schedule is always filled with things to do -- school work, homework, practice, club meetings and of course time with my friends. Sometimes I feel that I am moving like a hamster on a wheel -- constantly going non stop. Often times it gets overwhelming, I want to scream because I feel that I won't be able to keep up with the demands of school and activities. During these high stress times, I value my “me time”. Time to slow down, reflect on my accomplishments, align my priorities and just relax, both mentally and physically.
ReplyDeleteIt is very easy for a person to be pulled in many directions when you try to please everyone in your life. You can easily loose track of what's important to you and for you. Having time to myself allows me to make sure I feel good about myself and I am happy. I feel that when I am happy those around feel the positive vibe and they are happy too!
To some people, wanting to spend time by yourself may seem odd or even selfish, especially for a teenager. My view of it is completely opposite. The time I spend with myself gives me a chance to re-energize. I find that I am able to give more of myself, my time, my attention, my friendship, to those that people and things that are important to me.
I value community and a sense of belonging. I didn't know until much recently what belonging to something felt like. I was never really part of anything and when I was, I usually didn't feel accordingly. Within every team I ever played on or every extracurricular activity I've ever done, I've felt separated or like I was alone in a crowd of people. Crossfit Vineland is the only place I've ever felt fully accepted before I even knew anyone and I was overcome with joy when I felt that sense of community. I need a place to belong because floating around from place to place and person to person not being able to stick to anything is lonely. It makes you feel unwanted and useless. Having that place to go where no one looks at me sideways or feels like I'm overstepping into their territory is reassuring. It gives me this sense of purpose.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that makes me furious is when people ask me something and don't listen to my answer or when I'm arguing with someone and they don't even consider listening to my side of the argument. I hate when I'm not heard and I want to be. I am shy enough as it is to voice my opinion or my side of the story and I don't need other people giving me more reasons to keep my mouth shut in the first place. I have trouble being the focus of attention, especially in large groups. I feel somewhat claustrophobic and I get paranoid that everyone is judging every little thing about me, from the way I stand to the tiny string of hair that may be going astray. In my head, the thing they focus on most is how nervous I am and how I sound like I'm going to cry with every presentation I have to do or anytime I'm the only person talking or giving an answer in class. The reaction to these answers arise because I don't feel as though I'm ever listened to. This leads me to believe that I have nothing good to say, nothing worth listening to. This is where I am led, but I know better. I know that what I have to say is valuable, maybe not to everyone but to someone, what I have to say is valuable.