Snapshot Paper #2

Calvin Cortez
9/28/2013


Leadership and followership are two essential functions that promote and enable social
change to occur. Citizenship is the product of societys belief systems that guide leaders in their
decisions and inspires followers to act. Leader and follower are reflexive roles that any valuable
member of a community must be able step into.
It is a leaders duty to set a path and tone for their movement. A good leader must
captivate and inspire their followers to work towards a common goal. Charisma is essential to
gaining a following and providing an effective direction for followers. In order to have
motivated followers, a leader must also command respect. Respect is earned when followers see
that their leader has a good moral compass to live by. This respect can develop into a personal
trust if a leaders morals and ethics are in line with their followers. Trust, while hard to earn, is
an invaluable tool for any leader. Therefore honesty and integrity should be core values for any
leader. Followers are just as important, if not more important, to the completion of a goal. A
leader relies on his followers to carry out his vision. A great burden is put upon followers to
perform and live up to the expectation of the leader. For this reason they must be conscious of
the direction that they are being led and make sure that it is in line with their personal values.
People are much more motivated if they are in agreement with a goal.
Values
Integrity- The ability to stick to moral beliefs despite temptation
This value has become the cornerstone of my life because it was so ingrained into me as a
child. I can say with confidence that my entire family lives an honest life with firm moral beliefs
that cannot be shaken. As a child, I was often tempted to go against the morals that I was taught;
sometimes the temptation was too great for me to overcome. Instead of scolding me or punishing
me, my grandfather would simply tell me his story. He was born in Nicaragua in an incredibly
desperate situation. Without any formal education or parents to hold his hand he often went
through times of incredible hunger. From the age of 8, he worked as a farm hand to provide for
himself and his family. Despite his unbelievable poverty he developed an incredibly strong moral
code. His reputation was everything to him, his integrity kept it safe. I never want another man
to be able to call me a liar, steal, or cheat. I want people to know and trust that I am a good
person His story put my own life into perspective. If he could maintain such integrity in such a
desperate situation, I should have no problem doing the same in a much more comfortable one.
Empathy- The ability to look at things from someone elses perspective and feel
their pain
Empathy stretches much farther than simple kindness. Rather than just try to cheer
someone up, empathy requires that you try to feel someone elses pain. Once you know and
comprehend someone elses struggle you are in a much better position to help them. As a
volunteer in the IMA medical mission to Nicaragua, I served as a translator connecting American
doctors to their Spanish speaking patients. As I spoke with them, I heard countless heart-
wrenching stories of hardship. I listened intently and asked many questions so I could get to
know each one of my patients really well. Through empathizing with them and understanding
their situation, I became inspired to help them. It took my motivation to a whole new level and
opened up kindness that I never knew I had in me. Empathy forces people change their thinking
and inspires them to care for their fellow man.
Mindfulness- Being conscious of everything that you do and the actions
occurring around you
Sometimes it becomes very easy to get lost in the cycles of everyday life and forget your
purpose or lose your direction. In junior year of high school I found myself locked into a cycle of
homework and school. I was basically a zombie who lived life day to day. In this stage of my life
I failed to see how I neglected to go spend time with my mother on the weekends. One day I
finally showed up to her house and felt that things had changed. She shared her sadness and
disappointment with me. How could I forget about my own mother? I had not even called in a
couple of weeks. I was so incredibly shameful in that moment in time. I failed to stay mindful
and considerate of my family and was oblivious to my own mistakes. It was a terribly hard thing
to live down but it taught me a lesson. From that point on I tried to be more conscious of the
people around me and make sure that I pay more attention to what is happening outside of my
own personal bubble. I now make an effort to know where I stand with people and how my
actions affect them.

Strength- The will and ability to overcome adversity
Nothing in life worth having comes easy. Strength is a virtue that helps us push through
those tough times. As a child, I was always taught to stay strong through any sort of adversity
that I faced. Whenever I struggled or had trouble achieving a goal, my family would leave me to
find my inner strength to get through things. I was never babied or let off easy. Strength is
learned through personal experience rather than through discussion. Struggle strengthens the
human psyche and opens up new opportunities to grow. As we grow stronger, we are able to
make bigger sacrifices to earn higher rewards. We cannot grow if we do not challenge ourselves
and we cannot reap the benefits of accomplishments without the strength to achieve them.

I believe that every child born on the Earth should have the opportunity to become an
educated and productive member of society. The vast majority of the world lives in an
impoverished state that limits the prospects of millions of children. There is an enormous amount
of untapped human potential that goes to waste because there are not enough resources allocated
to education and intellectual development. It is often hard for western citizens to imagine the
world that most people live in. They cannot relate to the hunger, disparity, and hopelessness that
others live in. I think that we are too used to living a comfortable and relatively easy life. I
believe that it is our duty to help our fellow humans dig themselves out of the hole that they find
themselves in. In my travels I have seen such an overwhelming amount of poverty and recognize
the vicious cycles that keep certain sectors of society down for many generations. It is our social
responsibility to give every child born into these situations a fighting chance to become
successful. The world as a whole needs to invest more into the education of future leaders. I say
invest, because educating the worlds underprivileged goes beyond charity; it will make a
momentous change in the world for the better.
A solid value set serves a purpose far beyond making humans civil; it opens up the
kindness of the human spirit to help out their fellow man. When one lives by an ethical code of
laws they are able to see how they can improve the lives of others and spread the love that they
carry. Values promote positive change through the people that carry them.