CICI21
Jan 17, 2011
Undergraduate / "on my journey to college/myself" - LMU Supplement [2]
Statement:"So what is the answer to this deep insecurity we all feel? The answer, I think, is to embrace the adventure of becoming deeply, and fully, ourselves. This is what God is really calling us to. It seems like the riskiest of all journeys, this journey to be oneself. But it's ultimately the journey that leads us to happiness, that leads us into God's dreams for us.''
Question:Why do you think Fr. Lawton says the ''journey to be oneself'' seems the riskiest of all journeys? What risks lie ahead in your college career as you embark on the ''adventure''of discovering and becoming yourself?
All around me I have seen people who choose to live their lives based on other peoples definition of happiness. Fear of rejection, expectations, failure, and feelings of self insecurity are what drives people away from being who they truly are. That is why I can understand why Fr. Lawton said in his homily, "the journey to be oneself seems the riskiest of all journeys." As a society there are expectations for each generation to advance in prosperity and success; many people feel the pressure of these high standards and eventually abandon their own dreams to follow somebody else's. The ultimate test of our true identity is weather we are willing to risk our dreams in order to save ourselves from judgement and rejection. At this point of my life where I have to make vital decisions, I ask myself, will I too risk my happiness for the satisfaction of others?
There are those, i have noticed, who put on a mask made of lies to deceive not only themselves but those around them in means of following their expectations. An example i have seen is evident in my high school where we are divided in small learning communities called academies. in my academy, School for Advanced Studies, students are known for their intelligence, but within those students there are those who are notoriously known to do whatever is in their power to get good grades, even if it means to cheat. The title placed upon them, pressures them to live up to it; they are expected to attend a prestigious college and to be able to be accepted they need good grades- at whatever cost. What they don't understand is that by not doing things the honest way they are simply living in a lie. They are not thinking critically and letting their ambition take over them.
As I embark on my journey to college I know there will be times when I will be rejected for who I am. Along my journey I know there will be obstacles in which i could not overcome rapidly but I know that failure and learning from it will help me grow in character. failing is part of being a human- one cannot find happiness when we are too scared to fail in life; it is a lesson of life and an opportunity to grow in every way. As i go on with my journey I also know that there will be people who will influence me to change but I know that the risk of them not liking me is worth taking rather than not being myself. Discovering myself is truly an adventure because i do not know what experiences lie ahead that I will have to overcome. throughout all this, the true risk is to surrender to the influences i encounter during my college career- the risk of not being myself along the way. I do not know yet know what i want to be in the future, but i know that there will be people who will try to influence me to pick a career with a large income and not for the love doing it. I will have to overcome the challenge of being badly influenced and follow my dreams rather than letting others choose them for me.
Statement:"So what is the answer to this deep insecurity we all feel? The answer, I think, is to embrace the adventure of becoming deeply, and fully, ourselves. This is what God is really calling us to. It seems like the riskiest of all journeys, this journey to be oneself. But it's ultimately the journey that leads us to happiness, that leads us into God's dreams for us.''
Question:Why do you think Fr. Lawton says the ''journey to be oneself'' seems the riskiest of all journeys? What risks lie ahead in your college career as you embark on the ''adventure''of discovering and becoming yourself?
All around me I have seen people who choose to live their lives based on other peoples definition of happiness. Fear of rejection, expectations, failure, and feelings of self insecurity are what drives people away from being who they truly are. That is why I can understand why Fr. Lawton said in his homily, "the journey to be oneself seems the riskiest of all journeys." As a society there are expectations for each generation to advance in prosperity and success; many people feel the pressure of these high standards and eventually abandon their own dreams to follow somebody else's. The ultimate test of our true identity is weather we are willing to risk our dreams in order to save ourselves from judgement and rejection. At this point of my life where I have to make vital decisions, I ask myself, will I too risk my happiness for the satisfaction of others?
There are those, i have noticed, who put on a mask made of lies to deceive not only themselves but those around them in means of following their expectations. An example i have seen is evident in my high school where we are divided in small learning communities called academies. in my academy, School for Advanced Studies, students are known for their intelligence, but within those students there are those who are notoriously known to do whatever is in their power to get good grades, even if it means to cheat. The title placed upon them, pressures them to live up to it; they are expected to attend a prestigious college and to be able to be accepted they need good grades- at whatever cost. What they don't understand is that by not doing things the honest way they are simply living in a lie. They are not thinking critically and letting their ambition take over them.
As I embark on my journey to college I know there will be times when I will be rejected for who I am. Along my journey I know there will be obstacles in which i could not overcome rapidly but I know that failure and learning from it will help me grow in character. failing is part of being a human- one cannot find happiness when we are too scared to fail in life; it is a lesson of life and an opportunity to grow in every way. As i go on with my journey I also know that there will be people who will influence me to change but I know that the risk of them not liking me is worth taking rather than not being myself. Discovering myself is truly an adventure because i do not know what experiences lie ahead that I will have to overcome. throughout all this, the true risk is to surrender to the influences i encounter during my college career- the risk of not being myself along the way. I do not know yet know what i want to be in the future, but i know that there will be people who will try to influence me to pick a career with a large income and not for the love doing it. I will have to overcome the challenge of being badly influenced and follow my dreams rather than letting others choose them for me.