What Do I Value? (a discussion of my mission and modus operandi)

Hey hi hello! 

In our last colloquium class, we discussed values. (What does that mean? Do values shape our everyday lives? If so, which ones?) 

As a cohort, we came up with a list of about 20 values. Then Professor Hedden asked us to narrow it down to 8 that were most important to us...then just 5...then ONLY 2.  Anyone sitting around me could likely hear my heavy breathing and stress-induced mumbling that was a product of these requests. Perhaps it's apparent by now, but I'm quite an idealist (although yes, I study politics, so some of my dreams of a good world have been crushed).  I'm fiercely loyal to a wide range of values and felt like I was betraying myself a little when I had to mark out things like honesty, peace, and friendship. 

Before you decide to quit reading because I may be a lying, conflict-hungry, bad friend, LET ME EXPLAIN. 

  

The Process went as follows: 

 

Honesty                   Happiness                Family 

Loyalty                    Justice                      Love

Knowledge              Faith                         Integrity 

Respect                    Kindness                  Success

Ambition                 Independence           Equality 

Compassion             Freedom                   Peace 

Open-mindedness    Friendship                Power

The Top 5:

Knowledge              Faith 

Compassion             Freedom

Happiness                Family 

Justice                      Love 

The Final 2: 

Knowledge 

Happiness

Justice 

Faith 

Love 

So there you have it. I am left with Justice and Love.  

I believe this choice is best explained by something called modus operandi, which is Latin for "method of operations". If you've seen any legal shows, you may have heard this term in reference 

to the habits of a criminal, but it applies generally to mean a particular way of doing something (like life). 

My modus operandi is to love and to love hard. I don't just mean romantic love--although I am very much in love with a wonderful guy and have no qualms expressing that. Inherently, I've always possessed a very intense love that reaches into all aspects of my life. I genuinely love to learn, so I've always excelled in school. I love books, so I brought 60 of them to college with me. On a greater scale, my method of loving extends to many of the values I had to cross off the list. I love my family and my friends, so I constantly praise them and celebrate their half-birthdays and cry when they are hurt. I love God, so my version of faith is focused on loving others and striving for the ideals that Jesus represented. 

In regard to justice, that encompasses the desire in me to do whatever I can to make society better. 

Part of that means acting out of love, but it also means using my talents and education to pursue a law career in which I can work to protect those values of equality, freedom, knowledge, integrity, and peace. If there's anything that gets my mind and heart working at the same intensity, it's a political injustice. 

That brings us to the formation of a mission statement. Mine is simple.

Madison Zickgraf 's Mission: To always act out of love and pursue justice for all, to commit humbly to a patient pursuit of improving myself and the world. 

I hope to remember this exercise when life makes it hard to believe in an ideal, when I fail to love fully, and when the world doesn't seem to be moving forward. 

Until Next Time, 

Maddie

**Honorary recipients of my passionate love that were not listed above: ducks, fuzzy socks, a friendly tree, delicious tacos, parks & recreation (as a department and the TV show), the smell of the air after it rains, political biographies about powerful women, kids who like to read, and Crooked Media podcasts.** 

A Night with Charles Wright!

Greetings Everyone,

Last Wednesday, I had the honor of attending a Charles Wright Poetry Reading! As an English major and poetry enthusiast, this night was comparable to the experience of getting tickets to a championship game for a sports' fan.

The seats were filled with many students only there to get extra credit points in their English courses, and I was met with strange glances at my repeated ramblings of "I'm so excited! Oh my gosh, we're in the same room as a poet laureate! I'm just so excited!" 

As he read, I scribbled some thoughts and my favorite lines in my trusted journal. However, I'm having some difficulty forming a cohesive statement regarding my feelings for the entire night because his poetry covers such a range of emotions and experiences. So, I will just make a few suggestions of his poems that everyone should read.

• "Black Zodiac" 
• "Bedtime Story" 
• "Appalachian Book of the Dead" (There's a few of these)
• "Black and Blue" 
• "Shadow and Smoke" 
• "California Dreaming" 
• "Closer I Walk With Thee" 

Actually, I plan on reading everything he's written. Those are just some good ones that he read or I already knew of. Also, listen to his interviews on NPR, read articles about him, celebrate the fact that East Tennessee produced one of America's best poets! 

Thank you, Charles Wright, for reminding me that in the middle of all the chaos of college days and the discouraging news I read every day, that a good poem makes my heart and mind feel so much jazz. I don't know how else to say it. I won't give up on something that has such an impact. 

I wish I could write more, but I must study for a Latin test taking place tomorrow morning. 

Until Next Time or as the Romans would say "In Proximum", 

Maddie