In every person you look for specific characteristics, features, that you value above all else. In particular as well, you value certain things about yourself. For myself, I value five qualities: empathy, creativity, respect, honesty, and individuality.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It is the joy you feel when you see your best friend getting married, the pain you experience when you see someone else trying their best but still suffering. It’s what makes you say “I’m so sorry” when a horrible tragedy happens to another person, because you can only imagine the pain they are in—but know that you would feel the same if it were happening to you. Without empathy, we would not be able to understand how others are feeling, meaning we would not be able to respond appropriately to given situations.
Creativity is the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others. Creativity helps you see things differently and better deal with uncertainty. Creative people are better able to live with uncertainty because they can adapt their thinking to allow for the flow of the unknown. Without creativity, we have no imagination. Without imagination, we have lost our childhood. There would also be no books, no movies, no plays, fantasies, dreams, general ideas, etc.
By definition, respect is a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. Respect is really remaining civil, “treat everyone how you want to be treated.” You always hear it from your grandparents, from elder folk shouting “Respect your elders!” when you say “yeah” instead of “yes ma’am” to “Would you like some gumbo?”, at least down South. To have respect is to be a decent person, and if you are neither, then what kind of a person are you to deserve anything decent in return?
True honesty is when you speak the truth and act truthfully. Many people believe that honesty means you simply "don't tell a lie"—and speaking the truth is a big part of being honest. However, honesty means more than not lying. Honesty means your actions must be truthful, too. It's about being real with yourself and others about who you are, what you want and what you need to live your most authentic life. Without honesty, life would be full of suspicion and distrust. It would be a life of literal lies, as well as the eternal anxiety built up by those lies.
The most important quality to me is individuality, which is defined as the character of a particular person or thing that distinguishes them from others of the same kind. Your individuality shines through your temperament, attitude, thoughts, beliefs, behavior, and personality. Your personality is very unique, and it is what other people see when they interact with you. Without individuality, there would be nothing to tell you apart. It would quite literally become like what Nazi Germany wanted, everyone to look, act, think, and believe in the same ways as everyone else. I’m certain that no one would want to be just like everyone else. To lose your individuality is to lose yourself. I would never want to lose sight of who I am.
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