Today .

Today is my birthday. Twenty years of life I've lived. I'm too much more amazed with today than I am with everyday. Fittingly enough today was Live Learn Lead, which is a program put on through the housing office to develop students into better leaders. There was a discussion about what we value as individuals. I think that the only thing that I really know about who am becoming is were my values are rooted. Before today I had already decided in my mind that over all I value love, acceptance, and service to others. Having made this decision after a long process of thinking about it in my UN 250  class, today it was rather enjoyable to  reflect on why. I couldn't be completely open about it of course, because people I know were there and I've noticed that getting sentimental with people in a professional setting leads to awkwardness.

Love:
 I think that when knowing someone starts to influence who you are in an incredible way that is when you start to love them. I think that might be why for the mist part we love our families from birth, because they are literally who we are in the biological and psychological sense.That is why I love the people in my life who aren't my family, because they  too have become this intricate part of my being. It wasn't until last year that  I realized how many people will touch my life. I will always be thankful for that realization.

Acceptance:
Again, last year was really a great experience for me. After the New Year's Dilemma (that's the title these days) Self Acceptance Week (Women For Women) was really a moving experience for me. I think that acceptance goes hand in hand with love. If you can be open enough to the idea of letting someone influence you to the point that you love them then acceptance is the difference between love and simple admiration. The type of acceptance that accompanies love requires that you evolve as a part of someone and they evolve as a part of you.

Service:

I've realized that I have enough passion for good to change the world. I think that I may have decided this in SLFP. I think that what really inspired me was my obsession with education and the service that teachers provide for students everyday. I like to think that one day I will be able to spread my passion for education to people in the Congo. The women in the Congo deal with a  huge amount of sexual assault due to  a war based on  exploitation of the natural  resources that can be found there.I think education could stop that shit. I know, why education? I mean no one was thinking about educating the the Nazi's while they were killing the Jews. How could that help? I don't know. I just feel like if people weren't so desperate for resources because they learned other methods for sustaining themselves then we could stop rape in the Congo with education.I might be  ignorant to the real issues.

Growth:
I just officially added this one to my list of values today. I guess I'm beginning to realize more and more everyday that life is  process. I'm never going to stop writing my story because as long as I'm alive there will be something to say, something to do, something to live for and people to love. I think that is why I value growth so much. Unlike change growth is not related to regression. Growth is progress. Growth is all the reasons life is beautifully complex.

Finally, I write something with substance.