Blog #2: Values

Equality
I went to Texas A&M University, as a budding political moderate and freshly out as gay, knowing well that A&M had one of the more conservative student bodies at a public institution in the US.  While I went knowing some of my perspectives and views on situations, it was the lessons I learned at A&M that has helped me discover what I stand for a person and has helped me clarify my viewpoints and opinions on various subjects.  I was very involved with diversity initiatives at A&M, something that was always hard, because unfortunately, the discourse around diversity there was very much labelled as the "stuff it down my throat" variety, rather than the method I learned about and embraced through my involvement: the importance of the individual story.

One of my favorite marketing pieces that I made while
working at the GLBT Resource Center.  I did the marketing
because I was the only one who knew Photoshop!

It was through my involvement in the Memorial Student Center (one of our student unions) and the GLBT Resource Center, that equality at that time very much meant equality for my identity as a gay man.  My identity was challenged multiple times throughout my time there at A&M, ranging from big things (Proposition 2, friends being verbally or physically assaulted for their sexuality, patrons at the gay bar in the next town over being assaulted) to smaller, but powerful things (statements like "that's so gay" or "no homo", being told "you haven't found the right girl yet").
I began to get really involved in ways that I could make change, serving as the Vice President for Diversity in the MSC, where I could help revisit policies to make them more inclusive or providing workshops for exec boards or whole organizations.  To foster my identity as a gay man, and to help me work through all the issues and personally-held stereotypes with that, I got really involved with the GLBT Resource Center, volunteering at first but then becoming a student worker.  My favorite experience with the Resource Center was serving on Guess Who's Gay? Panels, an activity geared towards breaking down stereotypes and cultural misconceptions about our community.  The greatest thing about these panels, other than being a blast each time, was that every panel made positive change, because at least one audience member mentioned that a stereotype had been broken down or that they now realized they had been unconsciously advancing even subtle discrimination against the GLBT community.
I think these experiences really brought to the forefront for me the power of the individual story, and that each person deserves the opportunity to live to their fullest and to be themselves and be comfortable with that.  I know that there are a lot of strong opinions out there about a lot of things, but I hope that as I continue on in my profession, I hope I can bring this passion for equality and the individual story with me, so that I can make positive change as I move along in the world.

Loyalty
This one is hard to define for me sometimes, because it manifests in so many different forms.  I guess the best way I can express this value is that when I find something that I love or am passionate about, I give it 110% effort 110% of the time (omg, how corny and un-mathematical was that… sorry).  Whether it is a student organization, a soccer team, or my friends, when I love something, I love it a lot and I stay loyal and try to make it better than what it was when I came in.
I guess that last part mainly applies to student organizations.  I got involved with a lot of really great student organizations when I was at Texas A&M, and many of them served as my families while I went to college.  Coming from Japan, I knew no one at A&M, whereas it seemed at least everyone else knew someone else from their high schools or hometowns.  So, when I got involved in MSC FISH (Freshmen in Service and Hosting) during my freshman year, I fell in love with the organization, devoting all my time outside of class to the friends I made in that organization and to the organization itself.  When so much else in my time at A&M was a bit unknown (changing majors, parents moving from Japan to DC, etc.) this organization offered me an outlet and I felt committed to give back.  I moved into a sophomore leadership organization the next year, MSC LEAD (not an acronym… totes awk, I know) and committed myself completely again.  I fell in love with the positive work these organizations were doing and when you love what you do, it is easy to be loyal to the organization and the people in it.
Loyalty also extends to the sports world for me, in particular soccer.  A&M is a huge sports school, but I really found my place for sports supporting with our women's soccer team, who were really great and went to the NCAA tournament each year.  This stadium was a student supporters dream, because we were able to get within like 7 or 8 feet of the opposing goalkeeper (we would sit on the north or south ends behind the goals to watch the game and give the opposing goalie a hard-time.)  Two stories of my Aggie Women's Soccer Loyalty while with Aggie Arsenal (the support group me and about a dozen other guys started):

Pickles = Goals.

1. In order to effectively heckle the other team, you must do your research.  Some teams are well-prepared, and leave no bits of information in their media guides or on their websites, and for some reason, they never responded to my creepy stranger Facebook friend requests.  However, some schools, like Colorado, put all kinds of fun tidbits from the players in their media guide, like their favorite foods.  Their goalie, bless her heart, stated that she loved pickles.  Well, I wanted to help her out, sooooo, I brought a jar of pickles to our match against them.  We went into halftime down 2-0, and so I decided to unleash the magic of the pickle, opening them as she walked up to start the second half.  While I won't take full credit for this, I will take some, but we won 4-2.  Yup, pickle distraction=4 goal half.
2. I'm a bigger guy, and it's really hot in Texas.  During one of our late summer games against a smaller school, we were in the middle of scoring 9 goals, when, during one of my ever-excessive celebrations, I ripped my jeans down the front seam, effectively exposing my thighs and underwear if I did anything other than stand.  Did I leave?  NO!  I tied my supporters scarf around my waist, covering the rip and cheered the women's on the rest of the game.  BOOM! LOYALTY!

Education and Access to it
I think this pairs well with my first value of equality, but I love learning and I think it is one of the greatest enterprises that we undertake and something that we can never really escape.  I loved learning, being a history major, because it opened up so much more of the world to me, as well as the past.  I loved learning about history because for the first time, we weren't glossing over stuff in the interest of time… I got to take a class on a 10year period of history and so I go to really understand all that happened during these periods that changed the course of civilization or nations.  However, going to graduate school, I am one of the very, very, very lucky ones in the world, as this opportunity is rarely available around the world.  Even an undergraduate education, taken for granted in this country, should not be, because it is still a unique opportunity in the global picture.  I think that every child should have the opportunity to learn through high school, and should not have to worry about their safety, their families well being, or other things kids should not have to deal with.  I feel like this opportunity for each and every person to gain a basic education would help improve so many problems areas around the world, that it is one of our best options in fighting terrorism and poverty (I've read Three Cups of Tea lately, can you tell?).  However, getting to that place is tough, but something I'm LOYALLY (see what I did there?) committed too.



If you made it this far, enjoy this cracking goal from Shunsuke Nakamura.