Prudence and Dignity

These two magic words make me not need a motto. They make a summary of what a person I am, and they practically make my life easier. They reinforced what I already believed in and they made my values stronger. They're the number one reason why I will be forever grateful to our sorority, my recruiter and all my great teachers there.

Whenever I feel unsure about anything -- from approaching a person to making a lifetime commitment with him -- I consider prudence and dignity as both a life guide and criteria for my every decision.

Though part of the sorority's code is secrecy, I know that it will also think it prudent to share these wealth to everyone: Prudence is doing the right thing at the right time in the right place to the right person. While every person has his or her own concept of what is right, there should be a consideration of what is good for most people. But since righteousness is subjective, there will be objections and criticisms of whatever your decision is. That's where dignity comes in. Dignity is standing up for what you believe is right. No matter how bad people think about your decision, your job is to stand by it and prove that you made the right thing.

When I decided to study Journalism in UP, I faced many objections, encountered many of my fears and frustrations. Same as when I decided to get into a relationship at the start of college, when I decided to join the Sorority despite the many prejudices, when I decided to stay in a relationship with someone 12 years older than me and who has a lot of burden behind him. I believe I was prudent in all of those decisions. And I will forever stand by them.

Now, I decide to settle down, bind myself to a lifetime commitment and risk my happiness, my and my children's future to a man whose own future is uncertain. The only question now is dignity.