Living My Values

A few years ago, I made a commitment to myself to go beyond being a person who HAS values to becoming a person who LIVES their values. I started to question the ways that I was raising my child, wondering how much did I need to teach him about the complexities of the world around us. My professional work training and coaching preschool and childcare teachers began to evolve as well. I ensured that all of my training topics were rooted in realities that the early childhood education professionals and families of young children are facing, focusing on the impacts of race and racism, gender identity and expression, behaviors that challenge adults, and teacher stress and burnout.

As my values became increasingly politicized and radical, my life had to continue to adapt to maintain my promise to myself to live my values. One major change was in the energy that I brought to parenting. I intentionally sought out mental health resources that would teach me to be less motivated by perfection and unrealistic expectations, so that I could reduce my anxiety. Another major shift was in my career. I left my non-profit job, where I was bound to building projects that fulfilled someone else’s vision of systems change, and started my own business where I can work freely with families and educators to help them raise and educate young children with their own values at the forefront.