Compassion

• Internalization of a re-conceptualized love
  • Internalize a form of love in which people are appreciated, understood, and given room for their own growth
• Maintain a kindness in which people are treated with respect and dignity despite their shortcomings
• Recognition for everyone’s plight and journey for self-recognition

Cultural Humility

• Internalize continuous humbleness, self-reflection, and discovery
• Disruptions and challenging of oppressive constructs and relationships
• Central understanding to develop collective visioning and futures

 

Learning

• Leave room for continuous and kind yet critical growth
• Recognition of learning as ongoing and centrality of error in the process
• Understanding of everyone’s learning process as different yet just as valid and truthful as others

 

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Culmination of Values

It should be evident the importance of self-reflection and criticality in conjunction with kindness is in regards to my values. However, it should also be evident upon looking through my webpage, the constant struggle and battle for identity and self. As a young gay man with many primary dominant identities (white, male, Christian, able-bodied, etc.), I experienced a profound struggle for “self”. Growing up pre-identification as “gay”, I was socialized as the perfect cocktail. However, recognition of my queerness led to a scary truth. I was “minoritized”. With little to no conceptualization of oppression, minoritization, or “othering” I experienced an unguided culture shock”. I was never “less than” and with a blink of an eye I was. With no guide or reference. I was lost, alone, and damaged.

This short synopsis and reflection of my youth and search for self is critically important to the development of my values. Because it is not the values themselves that speak for themselves, it is the constant drive for a sense of self. These values thereby encompass my greatest paradox that my values are principals behind the unknowing. They are principals that make it okay to not know and to continuously reflect, emerge, and re-define oneself. The importance of “phoenix-ing”.  Therefore, learning, cultural humility, and compassion all culminate to one central idea, it is okay to simply be.

 

 

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I am?

I am kind-hearted.

I am damaged.

I am heartbroken.

I am confused.

I am ambitious.

I am fearful.

I am a mess.

I am put together.

I am ME.