WHAT
ARE VALUES? Let’s
discuss. Tell me what you think VALUES are. Well said, that shows we all have
an idea of what we are discussing today.
VALUES simply are BELIEFS, what you believe is true or right.
A
role-model young woman has the habit of doing the things other young women
don't like to do. Not because they like doing them anyway, but because they put
their purpose ahead of immediate pleasure.
As young women, we
must have values that we stand for, values that must never be changed no matter
the situation. Some of such values are sexual purity, integrity and excellence.
So
this brings us to this question, what values is the society giving us today
that we must not accept?
·
That young women are sex objects. There’s
no justification for this. Our society today constantly portrays the pictures
of young women as synonymous to sex. This should not be so. Music videos and
home videos have continuously sold the concept of ‘sweet 16’. You begin to
wonder what is sweet about a sixteen year old girl whose future lays ahead of
her.
·
The society is also giving us the impression
that every girl can be taken to bed for money. This is not true because there
are many girls out there who remain true to their values no matter how much is
on the table. These girls are becoming rare by the day because the society
seems to celebrate the unworthy.
·
Oprah said the following in a commencement
address to the graduates of an all-female College in 1993:
Be a queen. Dare to be different. Be a
pioneer. Be a leader. Be the kind of woman who in the face of adversity will
continue to embrace life and walk fearlessly toward the challenge. Take it on!
Be a truth seeker and rule your domain, whatever it is—your home, your office,
your family—with a loving heart. Be a queen. Be tender. Continue to give birth
to new ideas and rejoice in your womanhood ... My prayer is that we will stop
wasting time being mundane and mediocre ... We are daughters of God—here to
teach the world how to love... It doesn't matter what you've been through,
where you come from, who your parents are—nor your social or economic status.
None of that matters. What matters is how you choose to love, how you choose to
express that love through your work, through your family, through what you have
to give to the world... Be a queen. Own your power and your glory!
Let me share with us a story. When I’m done with the story,
we’ll go on a music break and discuss some of these things. Remember, you can
join this conversation live on our facebook page (THE GIRLS SHOW NIGERIA).
BILLY
JOEL
As a young boy Billy Joel often wanted to be someone
else, someone different from who he was. It seems he was teased a lot because
he was shorter than the rest of the kids. It was common for him to come home
from school or play and complain that he wasn't good enough. And he truly
believed that if he could be just a little taller, then he'd be okay.
His mother, of course, never believed for a minute that
her son was anything less than perfect. So every time he expressed something
negative about himself, she said to him, "Don't worry—it doesn't matter.
You don't have to be like anyone else because you're already perfect. We're all
unique, we're all different. And you, too, have something wonderful to share
with the world. I love you just the way you are."
Remember that old expression about words coming back to
haunt you? In this case, the words of a mother who unconditionally loved her
son came back many years later in the form of a song. You see, as Billy Joel
grew up, he learned who he was and he found his dream of creating music for the
world. And millions of people got to hear with their hearts, as his mother did,
the words of his Grammy Award-winning song:
Don't go changin' to try and please me...I love you
just the way you are.