Values

Values.

When we started class with looking at our social media, I wasn’t surprised that my top three values weren’t displayed on my top 5 tweets (which are great). The reason being is that I don’t use social media to preach my values. I use it as an outlet for my humor and wit (or what my friends call #AmitJokes….). To me, social media doesn’t paint the full picture of who I am, but just a part of me.

It’s kind of like the different levels of friends you have. There are some friends you have where you just know the basics about them, their name major and hometown. Then there are your good friends, which you can remember a few memories here and there where you two hung out and had a great time. Then there are your best and closest friends, who know everything about you.

The “Amit” that is shown on my social media would be what my acquaintance friends would expect to see, someone light hearted, likes to joke around, and loves Ohio State. But if you really wanted to know what my values were, you’d have to ask my closer friends. Maybe my other friends could guess them, but my closest friends would not be surprised by them.

That’s because values are something you show through actions, not tell through 140 character messages. Ask my friends the last time or how often I have shown my 3 values; Kindness, Significance, and Family and Friends.

Kindness- because we can never have enough it in the world. Never underestimate the effect of a simple act of kindness. I remember one time when I was walking on the Oval back from an advising appointment, frustrated with not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. Then I looked up and the Boo Radley Society was in front of me for High Five Friday. After getting numerous High Fives, I felt instantly better. I am sure that many people have a similar story like that. That is why I try to display kindness to whomever I run across during my day to day because you never know what they are going through nor the impact of your simple actions. The C that I think matches with this is consciousness of self, knowing how you display yourself in public and being aware of your actions.

Significance- I think a lot of people have this goal for their lives because most of us want to make a significant difference. Whether that be measure by money, or lives you touch, or championships you win, everyone has a different measure of significance. I hope that every position I hold or project I take part in has some sort of significance. But significance isn’t something that just finds you, it’s something you have to work for. The best way to earn significance is to commit to something you are passionate about. For Student-Alumni Council, we helped host the Alumni Awards, an evening when many of our most distinguished alumni are recognized. These alum were so accomplished that many of us in SAC joked, so what are we doing with our lives?? But I realized that these people, the founder of BuckeyeThon, a former CEO of McDonalds, all earned their way to this banquet not because they were chasing significance or a desire to be recognized, but because they were working for something they believed in. They were Congruent with their beliefs, dedicated to Change, and understood the meaning of our schools motto; education for Citizenship.

Family and Friends- it’s hard to think where or what I would be without the support of my family and friends. Most of my friends have been a huge sense of inspiration for me, motivating me to be better. I value them not for what they have done for me, but who they are. Together, we all hold a Commitment to each other.

My Headline: There were a few headlines I thought of but the one I decided to go with was “Renewable Energy Source Discovered”. Many of our problems today are created because of energy needs. Wars over oil, stagnant economies because of rising prices, and environmental destruction.  Hopefully with a new renewable energy source, these problems will decrease but it is just one of many issues we face in today’s world.