Atleigh Hirschfeld

Mrs. Kohout

College Senior English

September 21, 2022

It is Time to ‘Be Real’

In my Value Tournament ‘Realism’ was my winner. It easily comes down to one of my top

values. Being real is one of my most important values because in order to make relationships

they have to know who you are as a person. Being real and honest are a huge part of my life. I

always want to be the person that someone can count on for being honest. It was very hard for

me to come up with one value to choose for a winner. A lot of different values mean a lot of

things to me. My hardest battle was between ‘realism’ and ‘intimacy’. I am both very real and

intimate in many parts of my life, especially when it comes to creating relationships. I do think

realism is more important to me than intimacy because I use realism more often in my life than

intimacy. I believe that realism has a bigger impact on my life and other peoples lives, when

used correctly. Intimacy is also a huge part of my life though, I think my best relationships are

intimate ones. I also believe that realism can be very dangerous in some situations. Some

people take my honesty and realism the wrong way, I am never intending on hurting anyone, but

sometimes the truth hurts. I always want my friends to be honest with me, even if it is going to

hurt me. Another difficult battle for me was between ‘trust’ and ‘friendliness’. Both of those

values are very important to me. I think being friendly is the kindest thing you can do to anyone.

I consider giving someone a smile being friendly and that has a huge impact on others. Being

friendly also helps create social interactions and realtionships. Trust is also very important in my

life. It doesn’t take a lot for me to trust others, but once they lose that trust from me, it is very

hard to gain it back. Also it is important to me for other people to trust me. I want others to be

able to rely and depend on me, and that all comes with trust. Trust had always been a big part

of my life, I grew up trusting everyone around me. I always felt safe with who I was around and
that is a huge part of why trust is so important to me now. Another big battle for me was

between ‘helpful' and ‘affection’. Being helpful and affectionate are two words that I think most

people would describe me as. I love being helpful to everyone, especially with things I am very

comfortable with doing. For example; showing livestock, doing math homework, or playing

soccer. I really enjoy helping others learn new hobbies and things. Also, all of my jobs are

considered helping others; babysitting, waitressing, and assisting with the elderly. I love all of my

jobs dearly. I enjoy going to work, especially with the elderly. That is my favorite job I have ever

had, and I think that is because I love helping them do the tasks they can not do themselves.

But also affection is huge is my life. Ask anyone and they will say I am the touchiest person

ever. I think my affection comes from growing up in a very close knit family. My family has

always given hugs and said “I love you” to everyone, so that is just how I grew up. Now that still

has an affect on me because I do that to everyone whether they are my family or just close

friends. I let everyone know how much I love them by telling them and giving hugs. Sometimes,

this can be a negative thing to some people. That is why I have had to learn and adapt to the

people around me and if they appreciate my affection or not. I do use this in my everyday life

though, whether it is at school or at home. I will always let people know what is on my heart and

tell them how I feel.

Although, all of these value battle were tough, I believe that realism is still my most

important value. I think that realism is going to be super helpful throughout my whole life. I think

that this value is going to help me create real and strong bonds and relationships in college and

adult-hood. Being real has always came easy to be and hopefully always will. I think being

honest and real is important for everyone to do. That is how you make relationships and how

people learn new things about you and your life. My best relationships and friendships are ones

where we can be real with each other and always speak the honest truth to each other. This

value is going to stick with me throughout my whole life because of how important it is to me

now.