Queen's Core Values Essay

To direct my experience at Queen’s, I will return to my core values. They include success, belonging, hard work, openness, loyalty, enthusiasm, and responsibility. Each of these are an integral component of my self-image, and thus, how I will guide myself throughout my first year of university. Enthusiasm, as mentioned above, is an important foundation as The Happiness Advantage reminds me; it can assist me in achieving my goals. Ergo, bringing in the jumpstart of happiness is how I will initially respond to rising apprehension. Reminding myself of the privilege and opportunity of being at Smith and adjusting my mindset can do wonders for my success. By adding hard work to that attitude, the loyalty and support of friends and family, and openness
to new ways of learning, success is bound to follow. Finally, responsibility is how I round myself out. I have a deciding conscience and trust in doing what is right; not only in terms of every day and locally, but also in our country, and throughout the world. The result is that I volunteer often, and feel that giving back is a human obligation. Nevertheless, this responsibility is also extended to myself; for how can I expect to help others if I am not mentally or physically strong? In addition, it is worth mentioning that when I become stressed or anxious I tend to push people away to concentrate on what “needs to be done”, however, because a support system is integral to happiness when going through difficult situations, I will work hard to counter my instinct.
Despite these strong values, they cannot get me through school alone.
Organizing all I wish to do and accomplish in a way that reflects my values, however, is a promising place to start. Writing down my scattered thoughts and organizing my projects, something I learned from Making It all Work by David Allen, is also beneficial, as it allows me to be fully present during my next task. That is because every distraction has its place on a list. Likewise, by completing my Personal Scope and Personal Schedule, I was able to add some reality to my hopes for the year. By doing these exercises, I was able to better understand the amount of time at hand, the priority I should give to certain situations, and how to make my weekly life reflect the values I hold. It shook me slightly how much time my commitment to work, for example, took away from studying and socializing with friends. By putting my job under “assumption” on the Personal Scope I was better able to picture the time I have. This also allowed me to find a balance between the obligations that need to be met, my extracurriculars and my activities of interest, as well as specific time reserved for myself. This balance will be essential if I hope to complete this year at optimal mental and physical
health.