Wired

She made me write up a bunch of things about my values, and oh, god, it was all so earnest, but I'm putting it here for historical reasons:
My homework
My giftedness is empathy and kindness. But I can only say that because of my other gifts: intelligence, social class, security, relative mental stability. My whole career is based on my ability to understand complex technical problems and then understand and explain what people need to know about them. My relationships are about meeting people where they are and deciding if I can love them in that state, understanding that people are mostly doing the best they can with what they have.


I'm here to be and do what I can, with what I have, where I am. It's a quote from Arthur Ashe that means a lot to me. I'm here to change the world, not in large strokes, but in tiny nudges in people's lives. Kids who can function. A spouse who is truly themselves. Teenagers who postpone sex and use protection. Products that are more humane and ethical. Handwarmers for protestors. I don't think I have it in me to lead a revolution, but maybe I can make everything a little bit better where I am, and model how to be generous without overextending myself. I have to remember to keep myself safe and cared for first of all, or I become a detriment to the relational economy. Lack of self-care is a selfish action in the long run.


What is worth dying or living for.... um. It may be because I'm relatively young, but I'm pretty fatalistic about death. I care a lot more about functional life than I do about idealized life. That said, if I could absolutely know that it would save my child's life to give them mine, I would. It would be easier on impulse than as a meditated action. I think it's a lot harder to decide to live with someone and bend yourself so you can fit together than to make a single one-time decision about the value of their life vs. my own.


My values are honesty (not the same as truth-telling), joy, passion, and empathy. I feel like everything else flows from that. I want to be a place in the world that people feel understood, known, and loved for who they are, not who they portray.


I'm passionate about maximizing joy, mine and others. The axis I am most constricted on is time, and so the way to tell what I'm passionate about is what I make time for. Teaching sex education. Creating beautiful things and clothes that fit me. Reading books that make me think and that make me feel happy. I'm passionate about raising my kids to be critical thinkers, aware of different viewpoints and alternate ways of getting around problems. I am always aware that I am trying to raise adults, not compliant children. I do a lot of work toward making sure they have both the physical and emotional skills to manage adulthood. I was going to add cycling in here, but I think I LIKE it, but I'm not PASSIONATE about it. It is enjoyable and gets me exercise in the least-miserable way possible and gives me much-needed time for introspection and alone time, but I wouldn't say I'm passionate about it.

http://sortinghatchats.tumblr.com/post/121904186113/the-basics
Hufflepuff Primary, Slytherin Secondary.