Lesson 1: Remembering my values

Today was one of those long days... the ones when you catch yourself daydreaming about your head hitting the pillow. I woke up early, drove an hour to an unpaid internship, drove back to my city, headed downtown, picked up some stuff, got home, then left again to volunteer for my church. Add rain. All day long, everywhere I went.

I thought about not going to church, but I already made a prior commitment. I'm glad I went. We did the stations of the cross tonight, and some of the prayers reminded me of the morals and values I grew up having that I almost forgot about.

• Do good for others, not because you were pressured to and not for some self-centered reason, but because it does a service for your brothers and sisters.
• If a job must be done and you are scared, face your fears, even if it involves humiliation. Remember that Jesus stood up for what he believed in so much that he suffered the ridicule of the whole town as he bore the weight of the cross and dragged it to his place of death.
• "A flicker of light is better than cursing the darkness." Even in a time of utter despair, a small amount of good still means something. It may not seem so, but it offers a glimpse of hope to those who may think there is none.
• Everyone has their own problems. You may have a lot going on in your life at the moment, but that never means you're too occupied to help someone else who also needs it.

Those are the only ones that I can remember, although there was one for each station.

Sometimes I get so caught up in what I'm currently doing -- in this case, school -- that I forget about the nitty-gritty. School is all about making yourself look good on paper for the real thing that's out there, so within it is a lot of stress, hard work, competition, and constantly stepping out of your comfort zone. Not only is it good every once in a while to come back to things that are familiar and comfortable, but it also helps you remember to take these thoughts with you as you progress through life.

Another thing I learned today... I do yell at my mom. I listened to myself today and I noticed that I snap at her a lot and I'm impatient with her, much like my dad is. I also have to keep this in the back of my head so I can learn to not settle in those ways as I get older.