valued thoughts

One thing I've tried to be better at lately is living with intention. I feel pretty strongly about what my values are, but I find myself wondering if my actions align with them. It can be difficult or uncomfortable to act outside of your normal behavior, but that's how we grow as individuals. If at the end of the day what you say is different from what you do, why do you believe in your values?

I love my alma mater. I had a wonderful time during my four years at James Madison University and felt welcomed and safe on campus. One of my values regards defending individuals impacted by sexual assault. Recently, a student at JMU received a lot of attention after she shared her story on social media. She had reported her assault on campus and had a negative experience as the university handled it. The accused individual, who was not punished in any way, has taken part in organizations that my name was also tied to — organizations that I loved being a part of. Because of my journalistic history, I hadn't outright spoken out on the matter. I had gotten used to not sharing my opinions publicly on social media so as to not come off as biased when reporting.

I've realized that my actions and my values weren't aligning — now I'm taking steps to change in the hopes that my institution does the same. As a university, how can we claim to be a leader in engagement if we ignore the needs of our own? As a usually proud alumna, it makes me a bit uncomfortable to express anger at my university, but if I can't stand by my values when it's tough to do so, what's the point? This alignment of values to actions doesn't necessarily have to be in big and loud gestures, though. You can practice intentionality in little ways, like the way you talk about issues to others. When someone disagrees with your values, do you engage with them in conversation to hear their reasoning and express your own, or do you leave it alone? Intentional words and intentional actions challenge us to be the people we actually want to be.

I hope to live my life in a way that honors my values. When faced with challenges and uncomfortable moments, I now intend to ask myself how I can still stick to my principles. This period of uncertainty where I have to assess my actions and figure out how to move on is when I grow the most as a human being. That is when I learn what my values really are.