here is a bracket of what values are more important to me, kind of like a little tournament to get to my final most important value

we did this in health class and i thought it was really interesting so i would share it with you







sorry i couldn't get it in a single image ;; it was too big sadly

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some values i debated on
creativity vs love : i really struggled on choosing between this because i felt like creativity is really important to me and i think it's genuinely an essential trait. without it, it's hard to shine in the real world, do well on projects, and find something that matters to you in your own little way. however, in the end, i chose both, though excel chose for me that love would advance--even if you have all the creativity you have, you wouldn't truly be happy without love and to have someone understand you. however, without creativity, you wouldn't be able to meet someone, something, or some hobby that leads to love. i thought it could go both ways.

openness vs equality : i was hesitating, but then i realized all of my life i have lived by equity > equality, so that made me realize that openness is more important. without being open to new possibilities, it's impossible to find equality, equity, or ways to make sure we are all given opportunities that match who we are.

flexibility vs empathy : i think this was arguably the hardest choice i had to make. i truly, truly value the ability to adapt and be flexible. you have to know how to turn things around when a plan isn't going your way. you have to be flexible and move on from things that hurt you, even though it's hard. you have to adapt on the spot in many situations. in the end, i chose empathy--because in order to be flexible with others, you have to know how they're feeling, be in their shoes, and feel for them just like they do for themselves.

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some decisions i made you might disagree with, but i believe strongly on
openness is more important than forgiveness : why? because if you're open to new thoughts and new possible perspectives, that leads to forgiveness or not forgiveness. openness is what decides whether you're going to forgive someone or not. it controls forgiveness. if i were open to new possibilities, i would, to exemplify, realize that someone was ghosting me because i reminded them of someone who harmed them a long time ago. i would forgive them and get to know them more so they understand i'm not a threat. on the contrary, if i were open to more perspectives and realized that someone was struggling financially and was using me to pay their debts, i would not forgive them. if you get what i mean.

health over faith : sure, there are many religious beliefs that help us live through difficult times. however, it's true that health is above all. people devote their health for their religious beliefs, such as fasting. don't get me wrong--i have nothing against fasting, but when i saw my friend collapse during PE, cry during lunch, and speak in a quiet, weak voice unlike herself, i instantly knew that health is more important. faith can sometimes lead you the wrong way, because it's possible that faith can be spoken in a negative light for sure

flexibility over friendship : flexibility is how you manage a friendship. you have to be flexible around you friend because they will always have a flaw, no matter what, and it's about how you adapt to it, how flexible you are to not let it bother you, how flexible you are to see their good side instead, that really makes a friendship worth it in the end.

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reflection
so obviously my final choice was empathy. i think it is the root of life. with empathy, you meet new people. with empathy, you make friends. with empathy, you help people and get to know how true happiness really feels like, true joy. with empathy, you get to do what you love and realize why people love the same thing you do. with empathy, you make friends, you forgive, you are no longer bothered by the people who wronged you as much as you would've been bothered if you hadn't understood them.

i know a lot of people would be different than me, and that's okay

for me, though, what makes me the happiest is talking with people who i feel like truly understand me.