Personal Values

1. Family-Oriented: Whatever I do has to evolve around my family and not vice versa. I don't ever want my husband or kids to feel like they come second and can't rely on me to be there for them. No amount of pay is worth making them feel that way!

2. Faith/Spirituality: Faith/Spirituality has a big role in the way I live my life. Without it I would not have the outlook on life that I do today. I feel more uplifted, encouraged to do good and strive for better things. If I were ever to lose my faith than all of my priorities and values would change.

3. Compassion for others: I have always enjoyed helping and serving other people. In fact ever since I can remember I was always the one to step up and try to make someone feel better or help fix the situation.

4. Honesty: I will always be honest with all of those around me. You can make the decision of whether or not you like me based on that. I hate it when people lie to me and I value it when they tell the truth.

5. Positive: I find that life is much better lived with a positive outlook. You make the decision everyday whether you will let things get you down or not. I try to always keep a positive attitude and hope for the best and things generally always work out. I don't recall who said it but "power comes from telling the truth" and I truly believe that.

6. Freedom: I need the freedom to be able to attend to my family if needs be, such as if there is a family emergency, sickness, or a vacation planned months in advance. I also need the freedom to be able to contribute ideas to make a situation better and have them truly considered. Oh and just the plain old freedom to choose!

7. Health: Physical, mental and spiritual health are all important to living a balanced and enjoyable life. I have found when any one aspect of your health is out of whack it affects the others. When I feel the best is when I am actively enjoying all three aspects and spend some time focusing on myself. I can achieve so much more when I am healthy in all aspects of my life.

8. Intelligence: I value the hard work, determination, and time that goes into gaining and education. I have discovered how difficult it becomes later in your life to pursue your education and have gained a new appreciation for those who do it. Although it is difficult to attend school now and gain my education I know that it will be so valuable to me in the long run. I also feel more engaged and useful when I am actively learning.

9. Accomplishment: The process of learning new things sometimes isn't my favorite and at times can be difficult. However, when things are difficult it is the best feeling in the world to know that you stuck with it and accomplished whatever goal you had set out for. Going back to school was difficult in the beginning and I kicked myself for waiting so long. But when I receive my Associates degree after this semester it will be a great accomplishment for myself and my family.

10. Pleasure: I need to be happy and able to enjoy whatever it is I am doing. If it is something I don't enjoy doing then I will find a way to make it enjoyable. If it is a task such as helping someone use the bathroom I think of it as service and think of how I would feel if the situation was reversed. If it is cleaning bathrooms I make it into a game. I try my best at everything to make sure I make the best of the situation.

All of these values together would have an affect on my career choice. I would need to feel as though I can keep my core values and still work for someone without having to change who I am. However, my biggest influence on my career choice would have to be my family. All of my values that follow seem to correlate with my family. So, if I cannot fulfill my role as a wife and mother in a career than I would just have to find a job that will let me fulfill that role until later in life. I believe that my values for the most part will stay the same. However, the last few could change or change importance later in life depending on my situation.