Self Reflection

1. Name five of your core values—in order of priority if possible—and describe why they are important to you.

Family – You family is what you have come from. While you can’t pick them they are you and have helped mold you to what you are today in some way shape or form. They are the foundation on my life and what I have grown to become.
Compassion – Compassion and the feeling that you can show and deal with in your life is a staple core value to me. It is a way to better understand yourself in the greater context of our world and the society that we live in.
Commitment- I firmly believe that you should find something that you love and have a passion for and you should dedicate yourself to it. This can look so different for everyone. The range can be from an individual to a degree to an occupation. Whatsoever you choose to do, do it with everything you have, be as committed as possible.
Love – Love is a basis for everything we do. I believe you can’t live a successful life without love. I believe that love manifests itself in many ways. Some people might have love for themselves, others or a profession but they do have and experience love in some way shape or form. Those who say they don’t love say so because they are hiding behind a fear, whether justifiable or not they are hiding and at some point in their lives have experienced love.
Respect- Respect is a core that that I have that is very unique. Respect is something that you cannot get unless you receive and that is the tricky part. I try my hardest to give everyone the respect they are entitled to but there are occasions where respect that I have for an individual can be tainted based on how they represent themselves and their thoughts and/or feelings. I am not saying I would give respect to someone I didn’t agree with it deals more with how they represent themselves.

2. How do you bring your values into your professional and personal lives? How good a job do you feel you are doing at living your values?

I would say that I do an okay job and incorporating my core values into my everyday life. I am by no means perfect and there are definite times where I slack more in areas then I should but for the most part I try and be very reflective in my life which ultimately involves me staying centered and focused around my core values.

3. What really interests you? How do you (or could you) actualize your interests even more, whether at work, in a community setting, or as a hobby?

My whole life I have had two interests, teens and sports. I have always had a passion for sports and I followed that passion in my undergraduate work and job after college but I always found myself wanting to work more with the kids in my neighborhood. Trying to inspire them to do and strive for the best. I was able to incorporate that a little while working in both the professional and college sporting areas but it left me feeling unsatisfied and like I wasn’t helping my community. Now that I am in a school setting where I am able to combine my passion for teens (teaching middle school) and sports (coaching) I find that I am very happy with my life.

4. How much time do you set aside each week to do what truly interests you and how significant is the reward you receive?

Depends on the week. If Gonzaga is playing then I will always set that time away. Unfortunately, with the stress of being in my second year of teaching and finishing up my Masters I do not put as much time aside as I should.

5. What are the key skills you bring to life?
The skills I like to think I bring to life are centered around being dedicated to something in your life, staying determined to accomplish the goals you’ve set for yourself and remaining balanced in whatever it is that you choose to do in life.

6. How fully are you able to express them at home? In the workplace? In your community?
I feel very comfortable and confident in expressing my values and beliefs in my home, workplace and community. They are who I am and what I represent. People don’t have to necessarily completely agree with them but just understand and accept the fact that they are what make up who I am.

7. Describe how well you do at accepting yourself and others unconditionally.
As a teacher I think I have become ever better at accepting myself and others for who they are. In order to be a well rounded person I think that you have to be wiling to see people for everything that they are even if it something that you don’t agree with or see eye to eye on. If we all saw everything the same we would live in a very boring world.

8. Name some circumstances where you have found yourself expressing awe and/or gratitude.
I expressed the greatest amount of gratitude to a program that I went through the summer after my 8th grade year that was ultimately the reason for me deciding to work hard to be the first person in my family to go to college.

9. Briefly discuss the level of trust and depth you experience in your personal relationships.
The level of trust that I experience in my personal relationships varies. Depending on the person and the environment that I am in I tend to be very hesitant to let others in. I don’t mind discussing my thoughts and beliefs but as far as allowing someone to truly understand me and where and what I come from I need to have a very deep trust in that person and know that they are willing to listen, understand and accept me no matter what.

10. When and where in your life do you feel creative or inventive?
I don’t consider myself a very creative person but when I am the most creative is when I am doing something with photos from my life. I love to find creative and interesting ways to display and present photos that represent my life.

11. Do you feel that your life path is leading you to live up to your potential?
I do believe that my path is leading me to live up to my potential. While I am not sure what my ultimate goal in life is I truly feel that I am currently on the right path in my life and I am happy with where and what I am doing right now.

12. What else seems important to you as a part of this reflection?
Another important part of this reflection is taking the time to reflect. In our jobs especially as teachers it is very easy to get caught up in everything we have to do all the time but it is so important for us to stop and take time to reflect on our lives and what we are doing to ensure that we are taking care of ourselves.