Something that has been on my mind lately is the idea of values. Every person has their own set of values and beliefs that shape who they are.

As a teacher, I have values that I expect in my classroom. The biggest one I want and display in my classroom is respect. I don’t care who you are, what you look like, or things like that. Disrespect is not tolerated from anyone to anyone.

Kindness is another one in my room. I have a sign on my desk that says “Work hard and be kind.” Like that is the whole motto of my classroom. If my students do those things, then we’ll get along just fine.

But the problem is, not all of my students practice those things, whether in my classroom or not. I won’t lie. It’s hard being a teacher somedays. My kids can be mean and disrespectful some days because of their apathy. It’s disheartening when they act with disrespect because it only hurts them.

But outside of teaching, values are important as well. They’re definitely important when looking for a partner. You want someone who is going to line up with your values and what you’re after. Misaligned values is going to lead to a bad relationship. And that doesn’t always have to apply to a romantic relationship either. You want your friends to have similar values to you as well. It just makes things easier and the relationships smoother.

Another major area where values are important is for yourself. You gotta know who you are, what you think is important, and what you’re willing to accept and what you need to stand up for.

If you let everything slide, you’ll be a doormat and people can walk all over you. But if you don’t let anything slide, you’ll be stuck-up and probably lose people.

Your values help determine your behavior. What’s important to you is what you look out for in both yourself and in other people. And that’s what sticks out. Values determine actions and livelihood. And that is what makes you either good or bad.