cyn19
Feb 1, 2014
Scholarship / Essay about experiences with people with different beliefs from yours [2]
The transition from a tiny middle school where everybody knew each other to a high school in the northeastern part of my town was frightening. I was looking for an opportunity to earn college credit while in high school and Transmountain Early College High School was the only choice. I lived on the east side of town and the school was distant from my house. I had never set foot in the northeast until the first day of school when I came across new faces. The new environment that I was in provided me a chance to make friends with different backgrounds and point of views. One friend in particular had very opposed views from mine, but she opened up my head to new ideas.
My first period was English and the teacher had assigned us seats. I was assigned to sit next to a freckled-faced girl with light brown hair who told me her name was Monica, but she liked to be called Kat. When I saw her Harry Potter book on her desk, I asked her if she liked Harry Potter, and we struck conversation immediately.
A few classes had gone by and the lunch bell soon rang. Everyone seemed starving because everybody rushed to the cafeteria. I noticed that they were rushing to the cafeteria to avoid waiting in like a 10-mile long line. I decided to just wait for the line to calm down and sat down at one of the cafeteria tables. I soon saw Kat coming over to sit with me. Kat had her own lunch and I saw the line shorten so I decided to go get my food and eat with Kat. After 15 minutes, I finally got my food and sat down (once again) with Kat. Kat then asked me if I could pray with her before eating. She had not had a single bite of her lunch until I came back. I was amazed, surprised, and kind of freaked out! Did she really wait the whole time to just pray?
I told her I had never prayed before eating in my life. Kat looked hurt, and she closed her eyes and prayed silently to herself, and finally got a bite out of her sandwich. I had never had anyone to ask me to pray with them, nevertheless pray! The rest of my lunch was quiet and my last four classes went by fast.
After taking a long bus ride home, I told my mom what happened with Kat. My mom made me understand that I have to be considerate of other people's religion, and I should probably say sorry to Kat because I maybe offended her by saying I never prayed before in my life. I felt terrible. That night I dreamt about lunch and it kept replaying in my head.
The next day in my first period I sat next to Kat and I apologized. Kat forgave me and she explained to me how she attends a Baptist church. Her family always prays before eating, and she went to a private school where they prayed before eating too. I had never heard of a Baptist church and everything was so intriguing. I never followed a religion so I did not know of any of this.
Lunch soon approached and after standing 15 minutes in line, I sat next to Kat. Kat had not eaten, and I asked her to teach me how to pray. She looked at me and smiled widely. Praying before eating lunch has now become one of our daily routines.
The transition from a tiny middle school where everybody knew each other to a high school in the northeastern part of my town was frightening. I was looking for an opportunity to earn college credit while in high school and Transmountain Early College High School was the only choice. I lived on the east side of town and the school was distant from my house. I had never set foot in the northeast until the first day of school when I came across new faces. The new environment that I was in provided me a chance to make friends with different backgrounds and point of views. One friend in particular had very opposed views from mine, but she opened up my head to new ideas.
My first period was English and the teacher had assigned us seats. I was assigned to sit next to a freckled-faced girl with light brown hair who told me her name was Monica, but she liked to be called Kat. When I saw her Harry Potter book on her desk, I asked her if she liked Harry Potter, and we struck conversation immediately.
A few classes had gone by and the lunch bell soon rang. Everyone seemed starving because everybody rushed to the cafeteria. I noticed that they were rushing to the cafeteria to avoid waiting in like a 10-mile long line. I decided to just wait for the line to calm down and sat down at one of the cafeteria tables. I soon saw Kat coming over to sit with me. Kat had her own lunch and I saw the line shorten so I decided to go get my food and eat with Kat. After 15 minutes, I finally got my food and sat down (once again) with Kat. Kat then asked me if I could pray with her before eating. She had not had a single bite of her lunch until I came back. I was amazed, surprised, and kind of freaked out! Did she really wait the whole time to just pray?
I told her I had never prayed before eating in my life. Kat looked hurt, and she closed her eyes and prayed silently to herself, and finally got a bite out of her sandwich. I had never had anyone to ask me to pray with them, nevertheless pray! The rest of my lunch was quiet and my last four classes went by fast.
After taking a long bus ride home, I told my mom what happened with Kat. My mom made me understand that I have to be considerate of other people's religion, and I should probably say sorry to Kat because I maybe offended her by saying I never prayed before in my life. I felt terrible. That night I dreamt about lunch and it kept replaying in my head.
The next day in my first period I sat next to Kat and I apologized. Kat forgave me and she explained to me how she attends a Baptist church. Her family always prays before eating, and she went to a private school where they prayed before eating too. I had never heard of a Baptist church and everything was so intriguing. I never followed a religion so I did not know of any of this.
Lunch soon approached and after standing 15 minutes in line, I sat next to Kat. Kat had not eaten, and I asked her to teach me how to pray. She looked at me and smiled widely. Praying before eating lunch has now become one of our daily routines.