My parents moved to Dallas before they got married, which was at least ten years before I was born. My whole life I lived six hours away from the rest of my family. As the youngest grandkid, by the time I was old enough to remember, my grandparents were getting too old. It became harder for them to travel, so they rarely came to see my swim meets or orchestra concerts, and on the holidays we had to travel to them. Since I didn’t have extended family close by, my friends became my family. My church community specifically, became my support system. Many times in my life, I have faced challenges, yet I persevered through my struggles; not because I was strong, but because I had people to help me be strong. In my community of faith, where I
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As a child “powerful forces are at work within social relationships. When you are exposed to them early in life…you don’t know what they are or what they represent or what purpose they serve…”(Knausgaard). I was not able to recognize the meaning of my relationships until I was far away from what I’ve always known. At Hendrix, being a progressive, open-minded Christian, or a Christian in general is a challenge. So many of my fellow students who grew up going to private Catholic schools were hurt by Christians. First semester excited, I explored all the communities of faith that I could join. In Conway, I found a local Presbyterian church, and at Hendrix I found a small group that made me happy for a while. I formed new relationships, and I felt like part of a community. The small group differed from what I desired. Soon enough I stopped attending this small group, however I was still going to church. Then, when I returned from winter break going to church stopped too. Even if I didn’t have the community, I was still growing in my faith. After all, my religion courses helped me ask questions, forcing me to look closer at what I actually believe. I tried to convince myself solely continuing to question my personal faith would be sufficient, yet without a community of faith my emotional and spiritual needs were not fulfilled. Since I neglected my emotional needs, how did I expect to face heartache on my own? When I needed to heal, when I needed a community of faith to help me be strong, I did not have
As a child “powerful forces are at work within social relationships. When you are exposed to them early in life…you don’t know what they are or what they represent or what purpose they serve…”(Knausgaard). I was not able to recognize the meaning of my relationships until I was far away from what I’ve always known. At Hendrix, being a progressive, open-minded Christian, or a Christian in general is a challenge. So many of my fellow students who grew up going to private Catholic schools were hurt by Christians. First semester excited, I explored all the communities of faith that I could join. In Conway, I found a local Presbyterian church, and at Hendrix I found a small group that made me happy for a while. I formed new relationships, and I felt like part of a community. The small group differed from what I desired. Soon enough I stopped attending this small group, however I was still going to church. Then, when I returned from winter break going to church stopped too. Even if I didn’t have the community, I was still growing in my faith. After all, my religion courses helped me ask questions, forcing me to look closer at what I actually believe. I tried to convince myself solely continuing to question my personal faith would be sufficient, yet without a community of faith my emotional and spiritual needs were not fulfilled. Since I neglected my emotional needs, how did I expect to face heartache on my own? When I needed to heal, when I needed a community of faith to help me be strong, I did not have