Ethics and Vocation

Ethics and Vocation

I prefer to think of my attributes as opposed to talents in regard to my career. I think talents are something you are born with, and when I think of things I am talented at, they are not things that will help me in my career. That being said I am persistent, stubborn if you will, I am honest, caring, empathetic, respectful, to name a few of the characteristics I possess that I think help me not only in my career, but in my personal life. I am a mother to three children; I have been a wife and spent the majority of my life taking care of those I love. I strive to put the needs of others, often before my own, which I have come to realize although a respectable characteristic it can also be detrimental. When you place your worth on what you can do for others, you lose a portion of your own identity. This happened to me, I was a wife and mother and one day it all changed, my children grew up and no longer required my care, then divorce and I realized I wasn’t sure what or who I was. What would give my life purpose and satisfy my need to be needed and valuable. To be productive and contribute to society, to help others, both important to me, but lacking any career, or secondary education I decided that school was a must. Then to decide what I felt a pull toward, what would allow me to perform a beneficial service and interest me, something that I would enjoy doing ….. Law. I had never been directly involved with the law, no charges or arrests, yet the law had impacted my life in ways beyond my control. People I loved had made choices that involved me, forcing me to look at a system very important to my world, a system that I felt was broken.

I currently work as a paralegal in a firm practicing in probate. I have been employed there for 13 years and enjoy my job. I am able to help people in a time that is very emotional for them, and often foreign. It gives me a purpose and an opportunity to help others and perhaps make something difficult a little easier. Although I feel I am contributing and making a difference, there is still a voice in my head that urges me to do more. I plan to attend law school upon graduation from Grandview, I need to have an impact on the criminal justice system, and although I am uncertain exactly of the how, I know I need the degree to stand a chance at making a change.

When I consider my life, and what I think human flourishing means, my opinions are ever changing. As a young person being a parent, a wife, were what made me happy, satisfied my sense of accomplishment, if you will. I was content caring for my family and home, it was enough, changing the world was not something I often thought about. As I have aged, grown, I realize that I would like to do something more. Something to make the world better, something to make my society better.

Ethics, Morals, are important to me, a standard I believe all humans strive to live by. I also believe that our environment, family, circumstances all effect what these values are. I believe honesty, compassion for others, causing no harm, working hard for what you want, are all important. But my definitions of these things may not be what everyone believes. I believe all men are inherently good, but that situations can cause them to do bad things. I don’t believe there is one thing or way of life that leads all mankind to be satisfied and happy. We all seek different rewards, all have our own ideas of what makes us achieve success in our lives. Some people want material items, an expensive home, an expensive car, to have a lot of money in the bank. Some seek little material items and find happiness in simple things. Who is to say what the right choice is. Is there a preset determination written in a book that explains what is the right choice, the answer would have to be no. There are scholars over the ages that have attempted to prescribe what the true thing source of happiness is, that which allows a human to feel happiness, or contentment, but as I stated there are several opinions, several theories, not one. We often think of a higher power, and consider what they would expect of us, what they would expect of our behavior, our life. Do we have a specific purpose, a pre-written destiny?

I definitely don’t know the key to happiness for mankind. I do believe all people want happiness, contentment but we all have our own personal desires. People have many different values, things they want, or need to make