i like being roman catholic. i believe in one God and the holy trinity…the bread made into flesh. the morals. the realization of true happiness in life, and where it comes from. i just said all that because of the promp…keeping catholic identity in society. but i’ll reconsider talking more about my religion.
Non-fiction / The Wednesday Nite Fire Reignites Me
Being a Roman Catholic teen in today’s society, especially in a public school with large religious diversity, is very hard. Being a Roman Catholic teaches you to be a loner. You don’t get out much. People don’t really talk to you, not necessarily because you’re Catholic. They probably don’t know or care about that. But you separate yourself so much from “the scene” that it moves on without you. In silence, I say more to my peers than words could. I know that when I decide to sit with people at lunch, its not because I long to be accepted. I just like hearing people talk. It’s nice to talk. God gave us a gift when he gave us a voice, and languages and ears. I sit at lunch and looking around, I have an idea that I am the only virgin at my table, the only one that has never done drugs or had a drink. And my friend will laugh and tell me that I’m left out…but I know it’s the other way around. They are left out…from a life far more engaging and fulfilling than a bottle of beer or a bag or weed…or a one night disposable latex condom. And I am sad they are left out, because I don’t want them to be. I don’t want them to be locked in this world of perverse middle school sex jokes and curses and chaos. I want to lean in and whisper to them that they are worth so much. But I can’t. Because society has turned us against each other. Teens are in cliques, never on the same side when we should be. I don’t feel like I’m worth much. How can I tell other people they are? It is so hard to go to school. It’s hard to listen to people talking about their weekends, and wishing badly that you had something they would want to listen to. “I went to adoration this weekend. “ “I want on a drug trip this weekend”. Being a Roman Catholic…it makes you so different. It makes you abnormal. You don’t agree with people. You see a truth that no one else can see or be forced to see. You can’t persuade people. And no one really understands any of it or why you do it. Why would you stay away from drugs or sex? And it’s not a matter of avoiding it. I just don’t want any of that. I want to be able to go to bed on my wedding night and know that my husband will be the only man that I have ever given myself to. I want to go to bed knowing that he’s done the same for me. But if I’m sitting alone at lunch, how do I know there’s another person out there sitting alone too. I don’t see them. I don’t see anyone sitting alone except me. And the first week of school, the isolation brought me to tears because I realized that I am alone at this school.
Then Wednesday comes around. And I go to my youth group, Wednesday Nite fire. I see Cassandra, my friend and youth leader. I see my cousins, Amanda and Angela..Angela’s husband Justin. My friends, Sooz, Hayley, Kathy, Nade, Eric, Chris, Kevin, Brandon, Will…my brother, Chris. I see all these people…and for one night a week. For an hour and a half…I am not so alone. I am with people who talk about movies and their school day and things that intrigue me so much more than the sound of people mentioning the word “trashed”. I am with people that I can have a serious conversation with; a conversation about God, and life, and temptations. I am not afraid to talk with them. My heart doesn’t hold back. And as different as we are, I feel so similar to them. Like we are all the same. We’re loners. It’s the way it is. But we’re loners together. And…I thank God for my youth group. I would have already fallen by now if I never looked forward to Wednesday Nite. WNF is the highlight of my week. Always. It’s the only way to survive, to stay a crusader in this age of a sad car crash culture. Things are falling apart in the world. The only way to survive is to find other people. To find your crowd. Your church. Your family. And it’ll be small. Just a circle of about ten open chairs. But it’ll be enough for you. I promise. It’s enough to have guys, young men, who respect you. Who will never hurt you. Girls, who will never talk about you behind your back. There’s only a few, but just a few can hold you together. And you don’t need to party and get wasted to enjoy their company. You want more than anything to be completely attentive with them. To soak in every word they have to say so you can spend the week thinking about it or laughing about it. Your idea of a party is movie night or going ice-skating. Or a bonfire, where you roast smores and sing absurd songs. And you laugh together, and it’s a pure laugh, not a sick one. You’re happy with them. Always happy.
You go back to school. Back to the world. And you love being with your real friends so much, that you simply put up with the week, put up with the rude jokes and the gossip going on the background. You deal with all the bad white noise just so your friends next Wednesday. I’m a loner at my school. But in the world, I am with many of my kind. Being a Roman Catholic is hard. But being with Roman Catholic friends makes is easier.
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EES reviewed Version 1 -
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artofstocks reviewed Version 1 -
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JnetDrums reviewed Version 1 -
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I’ve never done drugs, had sex or drank alcohol.
Am I a Catholic?
Definitely not.
I’m Agnostic.
I can understand your feelings of not belonging or loneliness, but be aware that people aren’t that much different from you and I.
I don’t know you, but it’s a possibility that you could be closing yourself away from people because they don’t share the same faith as you. (Although, I could be wrong. Most kids in high school are douchbags anyway.)
Best of luck. I hope things get better for you at school.
As far as revisions go, you could explain why you think kids from your public school turned out differently compared to the kids from your church. It would also be better if your last paragraph was longer and more detailed.
Great perspective on your essay though! =)
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joelville reviewed Version 1 -
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First I want to say kudos to you. Second I want to say is that during this time period all of your classmates feel the same way, but they replace “Roman Catholic” with whatever makes them different. Like body type, etc. So heres the trick, religion is much more interesting and explorable then bodyfat, so tell me specifics about your religion, what makes roman catholic different than a protestant, what do you do at church or how does your family talk about church outside church. Give me a picture of what being roman catholic means besides what you don’t do. That way when you describe not being trashed, we get a kind of counter balance and get to imagine you in the middle. Also do you like being roman catholic or have you found reasons to dislike being anything else? :-)
-Joel
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