Personal Essay On Personal Values

Values
Values will determine how you live and are affected by the world around us. They direct our daily life and help us to make choices in a situation when you are not sure what to do. They identify who we are and our beliefs and they molded our way of life. Everyone has his or her personal collection of values. Every person’s value differs from one other. These values are made up by way of one’s life experience, religious beliefs, heritage and family history. Values are the representation of a person’s moral guidelines.
It is remarkable to hear people grumble that we have no values in this country that had previously existed, and the younger generation don’t understand what values are. To me, this is due to the fact that values transform as the

modern society transforms. Values change as we get older. In this paper, I am going to talk about my own values, religious conviction, cultural values and personal encounters. Several factors have played a part in forming them: my friends and family, my personal experiences, my heritage, and religious viewpoints.
Personal Values
I was born in the city of Chengdu in China. Both of my parents are electrical engineers and they have busy schedules. As a result I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, who was a Christian. She instilled the values of honesty and respect for others along with working hard for the things I want in life. Grandma insisted that honesty was the most important personal traits a person can have. She stressed to me to be always honest with myself and with God. Honesty is extremely important, since you are not able to move through life telling lies at every opportunity you get or whenever you do something inappropriate and you lie to wiggle out of it. When I was younger and got into trouble, I would try to lie to my grandma to save myself from getting punished. However, I quickly learned that lying would just get me into bigger trouble than I was already in. Family was another important value that my grandma passed on to me. In the culture I grew up in, family love was treasured. I absolutely believe that family will be there for you through the good times and bad times. They are willing to make sacrifices for your happiness, something that other people cannot do. Lastly, my grandmother implanted in me the value of working hard to reach your goal and that hard work always pays off. Other values that I learned throughout my life that shaped the person I have become today include responsibility, kindness, courage, virtue, love, tolerance and gratitude.
Religion Beliefs
I believe in the Holy Trinity; God, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Our creator God created all that is in the universe. He is love and truth. I know God is all around us and irrespective of your religion; you can get your salvation by being a good person and doing your best to live life according to the Ten Commandments. My grandmother instilled in me that religion was the most important thing in life and my faith and religion have played an integral role in my life. My religion gives me a moral compass, through which I can call into question the ethics of any action or behavior I face. I believe that when you are trying to be a good Christian, God will make a way for you in heaven after you die. God loves us because he created us and even though we all sin, when we repent and call upon Jesus all of our sins are washed away. God teaches love to us. I learned that if you have love then you know God and if you don't have love you cannot know God. I trust in the Bible and accept God and his beliefs. They are a big part of my home and school life. The Bible teaches us to do what is right and I trust that the best thing for me is to keep doing the right thing. I trust God and know He will guide me to always do what is

best.
Culture values
In Chinese culture, education is very high on a pedestal. Students who study hard bring honor to their parents and family. But in doing that it places considerable pressure on the students. When decisions are to be made in the family, the eldest usually has the most power and in my family this is my grandma. Even though she was the leader and maybe because of her Christian values, she would still ask for everyone's input. In Chinese culture, a healthy and happy family means a great quality life. In Chinese society, personal values would usually be secondary to group values in most cases. My personal values have been modified since living in the U.S. For instance, I express my thoughts more now. At first it was quite challenging since in my culture, people who are the loudest get into more trouble. I became more confident thanks to encouragement from my teachers and friends.
Individual Experience
People's values are changed by their life experiences. Many people have influenced me and have set amazing examples in my life. I fully appreciate the values I got from my grandma and my parents, but learning is a never ending process. Take in great values from other cultures, because every culture has great things. For instance, when I first moved to the U.S. years ago, my next door neighbor was an English teacher and she would offer to teach me English for free a few times a week. She was very helpful to me and my family and has since then become a close family friend. I was moved by her kindness and was inspired to start volunteering. I want to help others where ever I can and I want to give back to society.
Professional Values
The foundation of my nursing practice is professionalism, integrity and compassionate care. Developing these core values are vital for every nurse who has to make important decisions in their line of work. Nurses care for patents during sickness when they are at their most vulnerable. Therefore we must display certain professional values and behaviors as we carry out our work. The professional core value of nursing is connected with caring and compassion. Beauchamp and Childress (2009) states physician and nurses who express no compassion in their behavior often fail to provide what patients need most. Nursing is a caring profession where I can incorporate my values of integrity, honesty, compassion, loyalty, empathy, and respect. Our mission on this earth is to help others and upon graduation from nursing school, we took an oath. In reciting this, a nurse commits to “faithfully practice” her profession and to practice proper ethical values (Domrose, 2009). For me nursing isn’t just a profession, it's a calling and I have to live up to that. In conclusion, all of these values have made me the person I am today.