Who are you? Discussing the ideas and values that shape us.

“Open your arms to change, but never lose sight of your values” Dalai Lama

Who am I today?

I have undergone some life altering experiences, in which have broken me, molded me, changed my perspectives, strengthened my values, and have taught me various valuable lesson. I have always been someone to welcome change, it brings positivity, and new emotions, new ideas, in which all help you look at yourself in the mirror differently than what you just did yesterday.

Believe it or not, everyday we are subject to learning something new, whether we realize it or not, the same person we was yesterday, is not the same person we are today. Something minor changes, like your train of thought about a specific move, your plans change because something either went right or wrong, timelines and future plans change because we learn something about ourselves or what we are pursuing. Or we take risks and make moves that we never thought we’d be making anytime soon.

Throughout all of my struggles, I choose to wake up everyday and face all my challenges with an enthusiastic and optimistic attitude. I always keep in mind, that in my deepest and darkest moments, someone sadly, may be going through something even worse. People have always asked me, “how do you always keep a smile on your face”? Well, let me tell you, it’s not the easiest thing to do, because of course I am human, so yes, I cry, I get mad, I have a resting b*** face, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a reason for laughter and a big smile, even through our most challenging times.

“Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it”. - Kevyn Aucoin One has to be open to change, in order to embrace new thoughts and feelings. That’s how we expand on our values in which allows us to bring them into fruition.

A friend once told me that he admires the way I embrace change, and live everyday with hope and enthusiasm. Change is important, because it is a result of failure and successes. It shows growth and perseverance in oneself, especially within myself.

I know this is cliche asf, but believe it or not, last year around this time, I was going through a rough patch in my life. I was tormenting myself because I didn’t want to accept change, I was intimidated and afraid to miss the routine. When we look at ourselves, we sometimes don’t realize how comfortable we have become with our life.

When the unexpected happened to me and I met someone interesting and out of the ordinary, there was a change in my daily routine. When I also lost someone important in my life, that was also a change, a different change. And so, it is important to acknowledge the different types of changes as well.

At first, I was very closed off to accepting feelings of excitement or sadness, but I realized that as a person, we need to both grow and break free from our shackles. I learned that life shouldn’t ever become a routine. Everyday, at least for 10 minutes to an hour, we should find something in which we use/ or do in order to stimulate our minds. Something refreshing, something different, and OUT OF OUR ‘ROUTINE’. When you start to break free from routines, you learn more about yourself, others, and even the world in its entirety.

I realized that as a human being, we will always need something exciting. Breaking free from routines, is difficult, but very comforting once you do so. You learn to love yourself more, and feel happy when you look at yourself in the mirror again. I can now say that every morning when I wake up, I look at myself in the mirror and make myself smile. Even when I am tired, even when I am half asleep, even when I am feeling down or just sad, I tell myself to smile, because smiling is healthy for the soul.

I am a woman who has endured much to only be twenty-two. And I stand here proudly and admit that I am grateful for growth, for change, for re-molding and strengthening my values. My mother has always taught me that what we hold close to the heart: our values, our passions, our motivations are to be treated like a rare diamond.

We can’t let the past define who we are and what we will become as we continue to progress as human beings. I tell myself to set a new goal for myself on a daily basis, it keeps my mind fresh, but always busy. For example: with the new year coming in, I realized that I no longer wanted to complete my Masters degree. I realized that I forced myself into school again because I was afraid of change. A change in my routine. For four years straight after high school, all I knew was school. I dedicated myself to get the best grades, to accomplish my dreams of being on the Dean’s List all four years, and to graduate with a four year degree. When graduation rolled around this past summer, I can admit, I wasn’t excited. That meant for me that time is flying, I am growing older, and I am closer to my dreams. To many that may sound silly, but to be honest, the thought of adulting intimidates me. I did a semester in graduate school to test the waters, yes I got good grades, but I realized that I was waking up everyday with no motivation to go to class, to get the work done, and to want to strive and achieve for higher things regarding making connections throughout the RIT community.

With that being said, I realized that what I needed to do was break free from my routine. A routine that became ingrained in my mental because I was afraid to fail and disappoint those who pushed me into getting my graduate degree.

Now here I am, starting off 2018 with a fresh start, not in school any more, still feeling weird about it, don’t get me wrong, but I am trying to remind myself of what I hold dearest to my heart. I have a plan, that entitles big change, and new beginnings, and yes I know there is the possibility of failing or not attaining what I am pursuing the way I want it too all happen. BUT, I also know that we only have one life to live, time is not on our side, and we need to take risks, force change to break routine, and seize the moment. Learn to live, live your life freely and how you want to live it, stop letting others determine your course of actions. Learn to love open-heartedly and do the unthinkable for that love, chase it, feel it, embrace it, make it known. Laugh, ahh , the mighty laughter! Laugh until you can’t laugh anymore because we only have one shot at the good things that are within our reach.

So, in the meantime, I remind myself of my values again, as the new year begins to blossom:

Dependability Reliability Loyalty Commitment Open-mindedness Consistency Honesty Creativity Good humor Compassion Spirit of adventure Motivation Positivity Optimism Passion Respect Courage Perseverance Service to others

And so, to my audience, new one’s and old one’s , of all ages, these are some of the key values that I hold dearest to my heart, soul, and mind. Many of my friends, family, mentors, partners etc. know and recognize many of these values within me. Many of these values have molded me into the woman I am today, a lot of them have been passed down from the people I have met in my life and others I have learned on my own and I have let them grow within me as I choose my own path in life.

Kings and Queens, I leave you with this. As the new year evolves, welcome change with open arms. Yes, we are all afraid of change, whether we want to admit it or not, but change is not what defeats us, routine and being stagnant is what doesn’t allow progress within ourselves. Take time to reflect on the person you are today. Do some self- reflecting, some self-love, some self-awareness, cleanse your mind and soul and remind yourself of your values. What you hold dear to your heart, and just know that you can conquer the world: one step at a time.

“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones” John Maynard Keynes

Escape. The word escape is defined as, “an act of breaking free from confinement and control”. There’s so many things in my life I’ve needed escape from: bad habits, bad relationships, bad work environments, seasonal friendships and of course... old ideas.

Growing up my view of the world was a very narrow one. The environment I was born into, was one set in old ways of thinking so I was very defiant to anything that threatened the security I found them. These ideas I’d confused for values were confining me in a prison of indifference and intolerance, while developed an attitude of ignorance. The 3 I’s as I refer to them as (ignorance, intolerance and indifference) often are the byproduct of the reluctance to break from old ideas.

I believe that we must get a better sense of our ideas to get a better understanding of our values. I believe our values are the door through which ideas are allowed to walk through in order to make their homes in our hearts and minds. One idea that we’ve made a huge value is that “either it’s my way or the highway”. Without realizing it, we confine ourselves in this bubble that doesn’t allow us to ever every experience true growth.

The truth is we need new ideas. New ideas are so important, we need them to have a successful life in more ways than we know. New ideas are often the dynamite used to clear out the rubbish filling up your life. New ideas unclog your mind from outdated things that don’t allow you to progress.

Your values on the other hand are the things that keep you anchored. Your values keep you stable in moments of uncertainty and inconsistency. I feel like we need to get a handle of what our values are. Ideas aren’t values, they’re often the byproduct of our values. Our ideas come from what we believe.

Nobody is asking that you change what you believe, but to perhaps take a look at new ideas that can proof helpful to the ones you already have. If you’re not able to embrace new ideas you won’t progress. A smart person surrounds him or herself with smarter people. You can’t be build something solid off of old recycled ideas, new ideas can help you build something special.

When it comes to escaping old ideas here are some tips to help you: - define your values: what are your values? Your values are the roots to your ideas. - check the clock on certain values: are certain values outdated? Some of my values needed an update to allow me to better function in the world around me (sorta like an iPhone update). - don’t be afraid to question your old ideas: most of our ideas have been ingrained in us, be brave to question and learn. - don’t argue with others and force ideas on others: whatever you believe doesn’t need to be what others believe, there’s power in simply conversing and hearing what others have to say. What if we made a conscious effort as people to embrace people for their differences and not shun them. Imagine how we can rewrite history and affect the injustices of our times if we simply spoke and shared all that’s in our hearts.

Perhaps you’ve been taught that your ideas don’t matter. Perhaps you’ve been taught that your voice doesn’t matter. A big part of my faith in Jesus comes from his example that people matter, even if we don’t agree on everything. Jesus broke bread and spent time with people who lived differently than him, he didn’t isolate himself from the world. Jesus shattered how religion was viewed and the perspective many had of God. Ultimately, Jesus was killed because of the new ideas he proposed. History is full of figures like Martin Luther King Jr, who challenged ideas and values people held for so long. What if we as a people would change the way we shared our perspectives and were receptive to new ones? We’d grow as people and experience breakthroughs in different areas of life.

Remember that voice matters. Your ideas can change the world, you embracing new ideas can change YOUR world.

✌ Jeremiah Cedeño