My Values

In class we learned that the first step of becoming a leader was to know how you want to lead and what you want to do as a leader. Where do these ideas come from though? Why would I want to help change the image of fraternities at OSU to one that is less focused on drinking and more focused on something such as community service, or why would I push to help unite the four Greek councils? I want to make these changes because of my values.

Values are a set of beliefs that are important to you. They define you as a person, from how you act towards others to what you eat to what you are wearing everyday. My values define me as a person and play a role in every aspect of my life.

Value One: Success
To me success doesn't mean to have the most money or the biggest house in the neighborhood. Success to me is living a comfortable life in the future with friends and family who I love, and who I can share my success with. However, this is just a dream of mine. Everyone has dreams; that's the easy part, but how can you make your dreams come true?

Value Two: Hard Work and Sacrifice
I believe that with hard work and sacrifice, anything is truly possible. Unless you are a very lucky person, your success will mostly be determined by the effort you put in. Unfortunately my life was not handed to me on a silver platter, nor have I won the lottery yet. This leads me to realize that if I am to be successful and live my dremas, I have to work harder and sacrifice more than everyone else. I have followed this value throughout my whole life, even though I haven't really thought about it until recently. But hey, it's worked wonders for me. I've always had good grades because I studied hard for my tests and did my homework. I got a full ride to OSU because while most people were just taking it easy in highschool, I was studying for the SAT's. I recently got accepted into the NIH Summer Internship Program because of the time I spent on applying to various research programs during Christmas break.

How have I benefitted other people's lives because that's what being a leader is all about. The best thing is, hard work leads to everything else. Hard work has led to my success in life, and because of my successes, I am able to help others around me too: my family, friends, fraternity brothers etc. Through my hard work over the years, I have been able to help make their lives more comfortable. My full ride to OSU lifted any financial burden from my parents. Now they don't have to pay that $20,000 a year. Because I do well in my classes, I am able to help my friends when they have questions or problems.

Value Three: Service
My service comes naturally because I am a good guy by nature. I am willing to sacrifice a lot of my time for my family and friends. When they need a favor I'm always willing to help, but I am also willing to help people I don't know. When someone asks me for directions, I tell them. When someone drops their books, I will help them pick it up rather than just walk by like it didn't happen. These are all small things, but they all count towards making someone's life easier.

How do my values fit in with my council's values? Last week we talked about becoming closer to the other chapters of our council such as doing community service events together or socials with each other. We have a dream, but it will take hard work for that dream to become reality. Even with hard work, we might not be able to reach our dream by the time I graduate. However, I am still willing to work hard to pursue our dream, and hopefully the members who come after us will want to do the same.