During my time in Comp 1, my first paper was to write about a value I hold in my everyday life. For me, the value I chose for Project 1 was Respect. I hope you enjoy this paper when talking about why I chose respect.
Luis Alfaro
Rosillo
English Comp I
24 September 2021
Many people today will have different meanings when it comes to explaining what respect is. When I think of respect, I have that thought of someone or something by abilities, qualities, etc.; in times when I am still experiencing of who I want to be. For example, some people will say that having respect you can have that for your own culture, and for some people in their own families. Respect can have more of having that for anything in my heart, and what I desire to accomplish. I showed or had respect when I decided to share my bisexual orientation, my high school experiences, and my time working for Walmart.
Coming out as bisexual has brought me self-respect, and respect from my support system. For me, respect has the same meaning for myself, and for my surroundings. To demonstrate, not everyone is going to like me, and that’s okay, but at the end of the day, I am going to be respectful for them because that is something that my parents, especially my mother has taught me. Another example would be to get respect, you must earn it. Just recently, I came out to my parents, and classified myself as bisexual. I went back to my parents over the weekend in Lawton, explaining that I will be respectful to their home, and not bring it in their house. It’s kind of dumb, but it’s not that hard because my parents have younger kids in their home. They also have the same respect and support for me, and that says a lot coming from my parents. They have always said to me, “no matter what happens, we are proud of you, and we want you to be happy and successful.” Not only that when telling your oldest sister first definitely changes the game when you tell a sibling. When I think of being Hispanic, I think of a lot of attention from other people with the same heritage looking at you differently. To include the expectations that I understand even though I can’t meet. Before I came out to my parents, I came out to a group of friends including my roommate, and I was expecting a whole different reaction from them, especially my roommate. When I told them, in an instant they had given me their respect, and for that I adore them so much.
Respect from my support system from my high school in Lawton, Oklahoma has expanded, and increased during my time there. When I mean supporters, I mean the people who have had my back from day one. Many of my friends have my respect because they treat me very good with their positivity, their mindsets to think of the impossible, and for some they have never taken me for granted. This led me to be a part of the homecoming court in my Senior year of high school and being nominated by the senior class which I never thought of giving them the benefit of a doubt. I also had respect from my teachers back at my high school because of the hard work, and the challenges that have pushed me to become better for myself. With that saying, hard work does pays off. I’m also the same person that will always give respect, no matter the circumstances that might hit me, or the obstacles. To add on for my high school experiences, I would have never had more respect for my position as president of the National Honor Society. To include my sponsor Mrs. Bausch also my junior year English teacher was my favorite person that had my respect. To summarize about high school, it has brought me my respect for them, and it is something that I will never take for granted.
The orchestra program that I was involved in since my sixth-grade year brought more of my respect. That was not until my high school career that it opened more of my respect a lot. Ever since, my respect for the orchestra program has brought me my happiness, given me more options with other players to play fun pieces, my relationships with other students that come from different high schools in Lawton. For example, two of the other high schools Eisenhower High School, and Macarthur High School, and not being rivals at all. To value my point of dignity, it also has brought a lot of another value unity, especially recently with this COVID-19 storm that has been going on. Having that emotional journey in orchestra especially my senior year, and the all-city concert this past April has changed me. When I hugged my best friend Ava Hess, at that time she was a junior, had my respect, and vice versa to her. The reason that this hug is so important, and how it ties to respect is because she had this bright radiant light she had, and she was someone that I will tell my stories to a lot. To include to the orchestra program, having my respect was also for my orchestra teacher, Mrs. Kathy Liticker. She has changed me to becoming a better musician, especially when having my private lessons with her. She has helped me, and for that she will always and forever will have my respect. Also, getting to honor her since this past year, it was her last year being a teacher for the Lawton Public Schools district, she has established a lot of things for the orchestra program. She has been the strings coordinator for the past 9 years, established the first youth orchestra, which was called LOYO (Lasill Optimist Youth Orchestra), that has something that I have been a part of since my high school career. For that, I thank her for her dignity, her passion, and her time for just teaching her students on how to become better musicians for myself, and for other people.
Another example in my lifetime would be my job that I recently quit (I used to work at Walmart) with my coworkers, the interactions I had with customers, and with management. It made more open with myself especially with communications, and managers specifically the front end, my team leads that help the cashiers / self-checkout hosts majority of them had a lot of respect for me when I always would help getting the lines down. It was bad, but it wasn’t like the holidays bad. Majority of the customers that helped me with respect was something I do not think I will take for granted. One of the customers that I had her name is Ms. Gabby Rooney, and she had my respect for just being me, and just lightening me up on my darkest days. There was another time in my Walmart experience that I hold dearly and having; I do remember one time when an elderly woman randomly asked for my name, and I was thinking why she needed my name for. She was wanting to tell my team lead at the time how much respect I tried to give her. Two of my associates / team leads will always have my respect for them. Their name are both Monika and Dyan. They have always seen me put in the effort, and the hard work for working at Walmart back in Lawton, Oklahoma store number 269. Especially Ms. Dyan when I told her about going to the University of Oklahoma, she was excited for me for the next chapter, but was saddened when she found out I was leaving. It will be a place that I will always have my respect for, especially with the people that I have worked with.
The word respect can have multiple meanings, and for that it’s different for everyone. That’s okay, and you know everyone has their opinion about it, I used earlier in how it can be used in cultures, families, etc. To point out no matter what the circumstances during these next couple of years, respect will always have a special place in my heart. I would not have it if it was not for me coming out as bisexual, having a part-time job, and for some moments it’s the people that I am surrounded that hear my story. A friend of mine once told me, “To be yourself you need to break your barrier first and be yourself then.” I wish I would have known sooner, but it’s okay, I am still learning. To add on, another friend, Vanessa Cleophat posted about something that is related to my value about dignity, at the end of the post, it says, “give yourself time to be here.” I believe that here in the University of Oklahoma, everyone has different stories, values, journeys, etc. That is what my meaning of respect, for someone or something in everyday life, no matter the trials or tribulations that I will experience. In the end, how I will use respect here is be more open with myself, and the surroundings of my support system.