Reflective Essay: A Close Evaluation Of My Values

Improved Essays
Every individual person possesses a different set of values based on what they were taught and exposed to throughout their own lifetime. Although we are aware of what our values are, we often do not stop to think of just how these ideas were instilled in us. Morals can also evolve over time, depending on one’s individual experiences. Upon close evaluation of my moral guidelines, I have realized that my values stem from a multitude of factors. My parents, religion and social media are the sources of my current values.
The very first people to teach me anything about “right” versus “wrong” were my parents. From the moment I was born, they taught me to be kind to people. It was important not to harm others and to share my toys. Although they tried their best to teach me morals from a young age, there were some aspects of morality that took longer for me to grasp. When I was about five years old, I saw a package of bubblegum in the grocery store. My eyes grew wide and my mouth watered. Naturally, I took the package of gum and stuffed it into my Little Miss Spider handbag. This habit snowballed and soon I was taking handbags full of bubblegum home with me. My rationale was as follows; my parents pick up items from the
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With more time and research it would be possible to find additional factors that influenced my values but it was important for me to focus on the ones that had the most substantial impact. Religion and my parents created the basis of my values and social media helped initiate discussion about issues that I had not yet considered. Having multiple sources of information has allowed me to examine all of the values presented and decide for myself which ones I agree and disagree with. Through this process of constantly reanalyzing my own values, I have allowed my beliefs to cultivate and become a better representation of what I believe to be

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