STATEMENT 1: At a recent Commencement Mass, LMU's former President, Fr. Robert Lawton, S.J. said: ''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 one self. But it's ultimately the journey that leads us to happiness, that leads us into God's dreams for us.''
QUESTION 1: Why do you think Fr. Lawton says the ''journey to be oneself'' seems the riskiest of all journeys? What risks lie ahead as you embark on your college career, and the ''adventure'' of discovering and becoming yourself?
As a child and teenager everyone has those dreams while laying in bed at night thinking : "What do I want to be when I grow up? Or what will my life be in five years?" and no one can answer that but you. I am the key to my future and in my future there are endless possibilities. As college is fast approaching I often sit at home and wonder what my life will be like, what job I will have, where I am going to be living, and most of all whether or not I am going be successful. At this point in my thought I am thinking am I going to get my dream job of being a tour manager and sound engineer, or will I go after my wildest dreams to travel the globe with no care in the world to discover new cultures. The possibilities are endless. But at the same time this means that I have absolutely no idea what or where my life will take me. God has a path for everyone in life; it is just a matter of finding the right one. This is what makes me insecure; that there are so many choices and I do not know which one is the right one. The only thing that I do know is that my family, my friends, the people I meet everyday, and most of all myself, blesses each of God's paths. He has left it up to me to make the decision as to which path I will follow by consulting all the people that he has blessed me with. God has done his part, now the tough question is: Which path do I take, how will I know if it the right one, where is this path going to take me?
Feel free to edit and give me some feedback!
This journey of finding which path to follow is the journey that Fr. Lawton is referring to. As a senior in high school, I am taking the first step in discovering which path is right for me by deciding which colleges and universities are right for me to apply to. This is one of the riskiest adventures I have ever taken, because I for one of the first times in my life am stepping completely out of my comfort zone. By the month of May, I will have made one of the most important decisions in my life, where I will be attending college and my adventure is truly beginning.
I do not know what is ahead of me in college, but I am excited for the ride, the thrill, and the adventure. In college, I will be for the first time, forced to live on my own without being able to depend on my parents. For the first time in my life, I will be forced to make independent decisions that could have severe consequences. I will be forced to not only look at the small picture of day-to-day life but the big picture of my future. I will meet new people and make friends that are unlike any friends that I have had back home. This is an adventure in itself. All of these decisions and meetings will lead me to discover myself. It will lead me to myself, because for the first time I will be a completely independent person without anyone trying to sway my views or influence my decision.
Ultimately I feel that Fr. Lawton states that the journey to be oneself is the riskiest because is discovering oneself, I might not like what I see. During this process I might discover characteristics of myself that I did not know that I had that are not desirable traits. But on the other hand, I might discover positive character traits that were hidden so far down deep inside of me that it took this growing experience to make them apparent. This journey to myself is the riskiest because I do not know what to expect or what I will find.
QUESTION 1: Why do you think Fr. Lawton says the ''journey to be oneself'' seems the riskiest of all journeys? What risks lie ahead as you embark on your college career, and the ''adventure'' of discovering and becoming yourself?
As a child and teenager everyone has those dreams while laying in bed at night thinking : "What do I want to be when I grow up? Or what will my life be in five years?" and no one can answer that but you. I am the key to my future and in my future there are endless possibilities. As college is fast approaching I often sit at home and wonder what my life will be like, what job I will have, where I am going to be living, and most of all whether or not I am going be successful. At this point in my thought I am thinking am I going to get my dream job of being a tour manager and sound engineer, or will I go after my wildest dreams to travel the globe with no care in the world to discover new cultures. The possibilities are endless. But at the same time this means that I have absolutely no idea what or where my life will take me. God has a path for everyone in life; it is just a matter of finding the right one. This is what makes me insecure; that there are so many choices and I do not know which one is the right one. The only thing that I do know is that my family, my friends, the people I meet everyday, and most of all myself, blesses each of God's paths. He has left it up to me to make the decision as to which path I will follow by consulting all the people that he has blessed me with. God has done his part, now the tough question is: Which path do I take, how will I know if it the right one, where is this path going to take me?
Feel free to edit and give me some feedback!
This journey of finding which path to follow is the journey that Fr. Lawton is referring to. As a senior in high school, I am taking the first step in discovering which path is right for me by deciding which colleges and universities are right for me to apply to. This is one of the riskiest adventures I have ever taken, because I for one of the first times in my life am stepping completely out of my comfort zone. By the month of May, I will have made one of the most important decisions in my life, where I will be attending college and my adventure is truly beginning.
I do not know what is ahead of me in college, but I am excited for the ride, the thrill, and the adventure. In college, I will be for the first time, forced to live on my own without being able to depend on my parents. For the first time in my life, I will be forced to make independent decisions that could have severe consequences. I will be forced to not only look at the small picture of day-to-day life but the big picture of my future. I will meet new people and make friends that are unlike any friends that I have had back home. This is an adventure in itself. All of these decisions and meetings will lead me to discover myself. It will lead me to myself, because for the first time I will be a completely independent person without anyone trying to sway my views or influence my decision.
Ultimately I feel that Fr. Lawton states that the journey to be oneself is the riskiest because is discovering oneself, I might not like what I see. During this process I might discover characteristics of myself that I did not know that I had that are not desirable traits. But on the other hand, I might discover positive character traits that were hidden so far down deep inside of me that it took this growing experience to make them apparent. This journey to myself is the riskiest because I do not know what to expect or what I will find.