My 5 Core Values and What They Mean To Me
- Kindness: Like a warm hug for the soul, spreading love and brightening lives!
- Spirituality: Like a gentle breeze that whispers to our hearts, connecting us to something greater.
- Perserverance: The fiery determination that fuels our dreams, pushing us to never give up.
- Wisdom: Like a shining beacon, guiding us through life’s twists and turns with clarity and insight.
- Understanding: Like a bridge, connecting minds and hearts, fostering empathy and compassion.
How They Interact With Social Justice
These principles are perfectly aligned with social justice! Kindness inspires sympathy for others, regardless of their background. Spirituality typically fosters a sense of togetherness and common humanity, which is essential for inclusivity. Perseverance keeps us continuing in the struggle for equity, even when things get difficult. Wisdom permits us to comprehend the numerous levels of intersectionality and the various experiences that people have. Understanding Is important for restorative justice and responsibility because it allows us to see the consequences of our acts and strive toward healing.
To actively support these ideas, I must first educate myself about social justice concerns. Listen to and promote underrepresented voices while reflecting on my own privileges and biases. I would participate in community efforts aimed at structural change and not be hesitant to speak out against injustice. It’s a journey, and each step matters! 🚶♀️✨
My Guide to Taking Action!
- Educating my self. This step is crucial. Learning about the history of social justice movements, the experiences of who’s being oppressed. Knowledge is power!
- Practicing self-care. As a Black female living in a world where we are marginalized, it is critical to recharge and sustain resilience as our voices are being muffled.
- Using my voice. Speaking up against injustice and sharing my experiences and insights using social media, art, writing, or public speaking to raise awareness and inspire others.
- Seeking mentorship. Connecting with others who share the same beliefs and same commitments to injustice.
- Building a community. Surrounding myself with like-minded individuals. Joining or creating groups that focus on empowerment, education, and advocacy.
Angela Dunne
Noriya! I love how you organized your thoughts in this blog. It is so clear and well-thought-out and the first section where you list your values is so poetic. I feel like this needs to be read by people- share the link to this blog on your socials or sumthin.
In your section on the guide for taking action, the second item “Practicing self-care” reminds me so much of a quotation by Audre Lorde a Black feminist theorist, professor, and poet(!). Her work particularly emphasizes how she experienced the world along the lines of her racial, gender, class, and sexual identity. She said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” She was addressing exactly the themes you brought out in your writing. She saw self-care as an act of political warfare because as a Black woman taking care of herself in this social world, where she dealt with the impacts of both racism & sexism, is a radical act. Emphasizing your social identities while talking about self-care collectivizes the act of caring for yourself- it transforms self-care into community care.
Noriya Howard (She/Her)
Thank you so much for the kind reply, I appreciate the feedback on my blog. It means a lot that you found it clear and well-thought-out. I’m glad you enjoyed the section on values and found it poetic as that’s how I like to organize my thoughts lol. I’ll definitely consider sharing the link on my socials 🙂
I love that quote you shared by Audre Lord! It’s so powerful and resonates with the themes I discussed in my writing. Taking care of ourselves is not just self-indulgence, but an act self-preservation and resistance. It’s amazing how she emphasized the intersectionality of her experiences and the importance of self-care as a form of activism. Thank you for sharing that!
Shakeila richards (Her/she)
I love the way you break down your ideas. This is really encouraging. I was a little confused on how i would organize my ideas but after reading your blog i am very confident in writing mine. Great work Noriya
Noriya Howard (She/Her)
Thank you for the kind feedback. I’m glad to hear that my blog has encouraged you and given you some ideas in organizing yours as well. I appreciate it.
Jose Jacobo (meh)
Your blog beautifully expresses your core values and their alignment with social justice. It’s inspiring to see how kindness, spirituality, perseverance, wisdom, and understanding intersect with principles of equity and inclusivity. Your action plan educating yourself, practicing self-care, using your voice, seeking mentorship, and building community is empowering. Thank you Noriya for sharing your insights and commitment to making a difference!