i knew that would grab ur attention.
please comment on this! it’s due in two hrs!!
UC: discuss what values and characteristics you as an individual maintain and desire.
All that is noble is in itself of a quiet nature, and appears to sleep until it is aroused and summoned forth by contrast.
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
<pre><code>Maybe it is the Libra in me, but I am a person of balance. In my life I am always seeking ways to create just compromises. Usually the situations in need of compromise that permeate my life are pretty standard, and more often than not, I can reach a reasonable solution without compromising my integrity or my enjoyment. But this past year, a much larger issue came into play when the majority of my days were spent in two places: the beige, fluorescent-lit cubicle of a prominent investing firm and the infirmary of a convent. Though the word firm is about all these places share in common, together they helped me realize the importance of living a balanced and meaningful existence.
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All of my life I have always wanted to have a career in investing. I love the adrenaline rush of the daily highs and lows of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, I often cite compound interest as the 8th wonder of the world, and to the best of my knowledge, I am the only student at my high school capitalizing on the exponential benefits of an early Roth IRA. So of course when I found out I had been selected as an intern at Merrill Lynch this summer, I was pretty excited. What I quickly came to realize, though, was that although the job itself was very interesting, I didnt leave the workplace feeling any better about myself. Sure, I was becoming a savvy businesswoman, but in no way was I really making any worthy contribution to society.<br>
When I entered the 4th floor of the convent, I was immersed into a totally different atmosphere. The nuns, who range in age from 80 to 102 had a comforting demeanor that I had never experienced before. I remember asking myself early on how can these nuns be so content, lying in their beds dying without a penny to their name? Well, after hearing their stories, my question was quickly answered. They were content because of their carpe diem perspective on life. As I would help Sister Sebastian-a stroke victim and my favorite sister- exercise, she would tell me of her trips to Rome, studying Latin, one of our many shared interests. On other days, she would tell me of her experiences down in Harlan Kentucky spearheading a school for impoverished children in the Appalachian Mountains. Her life seemed so interesting and worthwhile to me, definitely undermining my cut and dry definition of success, which meant getting married and working hard for monetary gain.
So near the end of the summer, all of my thoughts culminated until I finally asked myself how I could balance my aspirations to have a successful career in finance, but still be able go to bed at night, knowing I made a difference in the world. This got my juices flowing, so to speak, and I realized that in order to truly do that, I would have to be like the sisters of Notre Dame and incorporate service into my career, instead of making it extraneous. So I have decided that when I become a certified financial planner, I will allot a certain number of hours per week to go into the inner-city and educate people there about investing, and give them the opportunity to start saving for their own little nest egg. For me, this seems like a worthwhile endeavor, because I think its important that people know that their poverty does not have to be cyclical and that they can accumulate a sizeable sum by just contributing a small amount each week. This is something that I am very excited about.
Though, I havent made it a huge point to list my values in this essay, I believe that actions speak louder than words.