Prompt-
STATEMENT 1: At a recent Commencement Mass, LMU's past 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 to 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 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?
Malik Moffett
Statement 1
Fr. Lawton question is one that would puzzle any one who has a relationship with God. As believers we know that "God directs all paths". But, the "journey to be oneself" is risky during these times growing up in a society in which everyone has a carefree attitude about everything, in my opinion. I can honesty say that I really haven't ventured out much other than go to school, church with my family and visit a few friends. I would imagine any journey will be risky if you are not prepared.
The journey to college is thus far the riskiest for me as I prepare for college. I know that I will have to become my own person as oneself, because I will be by self. I will not have my family at arms length to lean on whenever I need them. However, the journey to be oneself will force me to learn and embrace becoming deeply and fully understanding who I am, what I stand for, and what God has planned for me to obtain happiness. If I choose not to take this journey, then I would be passing up a paramount and life-changing opportunity to look deep within myself and listen to what God has been whispering in my ear for so many years. Instead of following the same exact path that I've been following since the start of high school and I could begin generating an attitude that reflects the teaching of Jesus, He has expressed so explicitly in the Bible.
Through an examination of my past all the way to my future, there is a list of inevitable risks and uncertainties I will have to face along the way, generally on my own to actually figure out who I really am. In my opinion, one the most universal and ever present risks that I will have to face in college is failure. This one word, which has passed through the lips of multiple students and scholars across the globe and in the distant past, is the one thing that, in my opinion, students fear most during college. Some people, who find themselves completely and utterly overwhelmed by their workload and lost in a web of outrageous behavior, may feel compelled to smoke cigarettes or marijuana to or to drink alcohol to alleviate themselves and "take the edge off". Also, another risk that I will face going into college is dealing with peer pressure. As time progresses in college there will be instances in which I'll be faced with several, enticing decisions that will (eventually) lead to own self-destruction. Some don't have a right or wrong-for instance should I go to class or should I stay in the dorms and smoke marijuana with my dorm mates who have also decided to stay "home".
However, like all fears in our lives failure can be defeated through willpower, determination, motivation, sometimes fear can be conquered by just "shutting down, but an even greater method of defeating the fears in our lives is, the One who sits high, but looks low, God almighty.
STATEMENT 1: At a recent Commencement Mass, LMU's past 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 to 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 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?
Malik Moffett
Statement 1
Fr. Lawton question is one that would puzzle any one who has a relationship with God. As believers we know that "God directs all paths". But, the "journey to be oneself" is risky during these times growing up in a society in which everyone has a carefree attitude about everything, in my opinion. I can honesty say that I really haven't ventured out much other than go to school, church with my family and visit a few friends. I would imagine any journey will be risky if you are not prepared.
The journey to college is thus far the riskiest for me as I prepare for college. I know that I will have to become my own person as oneself, because I will be by self. I will not have my family at arms length to lean on whenever I need them. However, the journey to be oneself will force me to learn and embrace becoming deeply and fully understanding who I am, what I stand for, and what God has planned for me to obtain happiness. If I choose not to take this journey, then I would be passing up a paramount and life-changing opportunity to look deep within myself and listen to what God has been whispering in my ear for so many years. Instead of following the same exact path that I've been following since the start of high school and I could begin generating an attitude that reflects the teaching of Jesus, He has expressed so explicitly in the Bible.
Through an examination of my past all the way to my future, there is a list of inevitable risks and uncertainties I will have to face along the way, generally on my own to actually figure out who I really am. In my opinion, one the most universal and ever present risks that I will have to face in college is failure. This one word, which has passed through the lips of multiple students and scholars across the globe and in the distant past, is the one thing that, in my opinion, students fear most during college. Some people, who find themselves completely and utterly overwhelmed by their workload and lost in a web of outrageous behavior, may feel compelled to smoke cigarettes or marijuana to or to drink alcohol to alleviate themselves and "take the edge off". Also, another risk that I will face going into college is dealing with peer pressure. As time progresses in college there will be instances in which I'll be faced with several, enticing decisions that will (eventually) lead to own self-destruction. Some don't have a right or wrong-for instance should I go to class or should I stay in the dorms and smoke marijuana with my dorm mates who have also decided to stay "home".
However, like all fears in our lives failure can be defeated through willpower, determination, motivation, sometimes fear can be conquered by just "shutting down, but an even greater method of defeating the fears in our lives is, the One who sits high, but looks low, God almighty.