By: Tamon Mark Uttech
My one wonder about this segment of the career development class was that I wondered if I would be able to look back and really remember what values I had when I graduated from high school 41 years ago. Do values change over time or not? Going through the values questionnaire gave me part of an answer to that question; I was able to recognize that some parts of myself had changed and some remained the same. I was pleased to discover that we actually do learn new things about ourselves as we get older. For example, it was when I returned to school and was asked about my hobbies that my true hobbies of simply “reading and writing” came so easily to mind, although in the past, for as long as I can remember, I always used to think about all kinds of things that I “liked to do,” and the difference now is that I simply look at what I do nearly every day. I suppose that means that we come to know ourselves better over time.
One of my ‘eye-opener’ events in Career Development was last week’s auction. I was ready to put all my money ($1000) on a learning center, with a library and video tools. The surprise came when the instructor told us that the next item auctioned would be the last one. It was not the learning center, but because I did not want to come away empty-handed, I put all of my money on the last thing auctioned, just so I could participate. That incident alone taught me something about the “golden handcuffs” segment of the class – the fact that something is better than nothing. That incident alone turned out to be a real treasure that I took away from that day’s class. I reflected on the thought that because I did not get the chance to bid on the one thing I wanted, I was ready to give away all I had just to get something. I wonder how that could have turned out if I had had the chance to bid on the one thing I really wanted, only to lose? But then, if what you have is what everyone else has, at the very most you can tie with someone or everyone else who wants the same thing you do. A natural career develops out of your persistence, your being yourself, your determination to ‘keep going.’ Learning about your values is learning and relearning about who you are. There is a sureness that comes with time.
