When I was asked for what I believe to be the 5 most important values and qualities in life, my response was a far cry from what others of my class had presented. Many placed the need for wealth and power above all else. Others chose friendship and love. Most included 'family ties'. Indeed my 5 values, courage, freedom, respect, challenge and intelligence succeeded in raising an eyebrow among my peers.

Nevertheless I hold true to my believes. I hope for the development of humanity and not as an individual. Those who treasure aspects that concerns only themselves and their family are selfish thinkers indeed.

Conflicts, oppression, corruption. Could they be reduced if society cherishes mutual respect for each other? When one respects another would they impose their ideologies onto another? Would they obtain things that belong to others forcefully? Surely military adventurism would not even be considered. History taught us many things. Hundreds of years of colonisation that causes an uneven level of development would not occur and  plague the world as severely as it is today. Why would anyone consciously emphasis the need to treasure ties of kinship if people are born attuned to treating friends and family with respect? Respect on its own constitutes a part of what we call love. Perhaps if one adheres strictly to practicing the act of respecting one another, things would turn out better today.

Yet when respect becomes part and parcel of everyday life in every individual, perhaps freedom could be achieved. Freedom for one to choose his or her path in their lives. Allowing one to develop their forte and their talents, learning about life and carving beautiful memories of their own the way they want it to be. Being able to live their lives rather than to survive and also contribute to the world and improve it as they go along.

Still, the troubles which plague society does not solely arrive from doings of mankind today. Indeed diseases and natural disasters ravage humanity uncontrollably from time to time which mutual respect and freedom in individuals could not remedy. These would pose as challenges for mankind, challenges that would be the drive for mankind to excel. The world had done much to overcome challenges throughout history, with much breakthroughs that pushes the boundaries of humankind. Yet many of us had not grown to take challenge as a drive but perceives it negatively while ironically see stress as the push factor for themselves to excel. Without challenge civilisations would not improve, history itself would be mundane without historical breakthroughs and many great leaders and thinkers would not surface at all.

Historical figures arrive form time to time because of courage to pursue their goals and to solve their problems that plague them. Indeed courage become one of my most important values as a man with all the freedom to work and ponder about the world cannot achieve breakthrough without first working on the dreams. Courage is the most direct and yet vital factor in driving a man to achieving what he hopes to achieve. With respect that leads to freedom for mankind, and courage that enables man to begin tackling challenges, the world would progress as the most innovative of animal species reveal just how much life can go in the universe, but not without one key element that places us among the most innovative and leading specie of animal in the world today.  

Intelligence. The one thing we possess more than any other animal on Earth would be the main fuel to drive mankind to greatness. Courage to solve problems would mean nothing without intelligence to go about solving them. Intelligence had propelled us to this day and it would remain as a key factor we must cherish knowingly.  It may seem as a load of gibberish talk about mankind and greatness, but mankind itself comprises of billions of individuals, us.

Could a brain perform its functions if the brain cells began shutting down in large numbers? If we lose our direction, we, too, would begin to shut down.  

Lacking examples but this is all I could elaborate in 1 hour's worth of time.