FROM THE WOMEN IN TYLER

Chapter 5: Values

 1.       Family/Relationships, Faith, Integrity, Achievement/Hard work, Compassion/Service, Loyalty

 2.       One summer while in college, I was struggling to find a job so I would be able to save money for the upcoming semester. After months of searching and dead ends, I was offered a lifeguarding job at a casino resort in Las Vegas. After accepting the offer and committing to the job, I showed up for orientation and was shown the uniform.  That was when I learned that I would be required to wear a tiny white bikini every day. This meant my body would be on display for all guests and workers every day I was at work. Also, the uniform wasn’t very practical for the job. If I had to perform CPR or rescue anyone from the water, I was at risk of being “exposed”. I had to choose between my integrity, as I gave my word, and following my faith which includes being modest and respecting my body. In the end, I had to call my boss and tell him I would not be able to work in the uniform that they were requesting. He kind of laughed at me and told me that I could find a job somewhere else than. I was disappointed in this outcome as I had to go back to my job hunt but I felt good that I stood up for myself and what was important to me.

 3.       Anytime you have done something wrong but have an opportunity to sweep it under the rug and compromise your integrity, there is pressure to abandon your values. One time in an office setting, I let a patient leave on accident before the doctor signed off on the chart. Our doctor called a group of 5 of us in to his office and was screaming at us all to figure out what happened. It would have been easy to keep quiet and let the whole group be blamed as I was the only one that really knew what happened. It was so scary to raise my hand and admit fault, and when I did, I was screamed at in front of everyone. After he dismissed the staff and kept me behind, he calmed down and we resolved the issue instead of blaming the whole office and ruining everyone’s day.

a.       Although it would have been easy to deviate from my values, my integrity was more important to me than my pride

                                  b.    I had to muster up all of my courage and rely on it to withstand the pressure                                   I was under.

                                  c.     If faced with this again, I would probably own my mistake as soon as I                                            caught it instead of waiting for the boss to catch it and save everyone from                                            being yelled at.