Our Choices Manifesto

Life comes with a lot of choices. The choices often overwhelm us with their outcomes. The choice to express political views without consideration of people’s reactions and thoughts. The choice to support, or reject, diversity. There are so many choices that affect how we live and how we appear in relation to the ones around us. Our choices can affect people, including ourselves. The question is, will we be affected positively or negatively? I believe that our choices should have positive outcomes.

Maturity/Professionalism
Often times, we are exposed to problems that require maturity to solve. It’s never a walk in a park when someone offends you or hurts a person you know, and it can even be hard to retain professionalism when wanting to state your feelings. However, I am sure that this act is possible for all of us, though the task is challenging. Remember to stand in their shoes. What you are going to say should not be anything you wouldn’t want to be said to you. Say how you feel in a way that gets your point across but doesn’t sound mean. Afterwards you will feel proud that you handled the situation professionally, and that you got your point across intelligently. You can deal with anything in a grown up way, and get the point across intelligently.

Preparation
Everything we do comes with a price, so we should take action and be prepared. It feels good to have everything ready because it gives a sense of accomplishment. I believe that preparedness helps everyone around us. There is less stress, which makes is a little easier to get up in the morning. I want to be ready for what I need to do, so I can handle situations, both easy and hard. I want to have a plan for what I am going to do, and be able to adjust it if needed. I want to be prepared to handle what I'm told and how I work with it. I do more than have my materials out each day. I am ready and feel good about it.

Doing Good
We all can do good. We help our families adjust to the ever changing technology age. We offer help to others and adapt our our environments, but we can do more. I learn about our world, and explore diversity. I put energy into telling others that they are doing good, and how to do better. For example, I understand others’ problems and try to help them as much as I can. I am sure that in our present world, encouraging people to do good is happening, if we are willing to find and use it.

We are strong. We are ready. We are hopeful. We can. We all have times of seeing our past choices and wondering if we retained maturity, if we were prepared, and if we did good. There is no reason we can't start now. Life’s choices affect everything, but choosing something once doesn't mean it lasts forever.

-Leila