Personal Values and Spirituality

I chose Hinduism because I currently have a co-worker, patients, and a doctor who practice this faith, consequently I don't feel like it was or has been a problem building a relationship with them. Before my co-worker and I knew our worldview we both talked about how we are to be in life. One day I was talking to a patient about faith and my co-worker heard me and she said " I didn't know you were a Christian," I replied, "Is there anything else to believe in because that's all I know." She then stated " I have never met anyone like you who stands so strong on their religion. How can you do that without being afraid to lose your job? One can say that the only steps to be taken are to do as we are commanded. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. (Matthew 22:39) NIV

Faith in Christ has given me a unique life filled with optimism and purpose. From a young age, I have been raised in a home where I was taught about the love of Christ. Not only at home did I learn about Christ, but at school and at church. Thus, my life has been filled with experiences that have amplified my faith. For example, when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, I found that my relationship with Christ grew. Through all of the difficult circumstances that I have faced, faith in Christ has given me the encouragement that I need to persevere through any situation. Additionally, faith has influenced my decision making, which is why I strive to make all my decisions and live my life according to faith-based principles. This means

Over the past year, I have served my school and community in many different ways. Whether it be through volunteering or participating in organizations that work to make changes in the lives of others. I try to stay involved in my environment. Currently, I am a student at Rockford Lutheran High School. With the multitude of clubs, my school offers, I am able to interact with other club members to promote student participation. Every year we participate in drives and fundraisers. In Key Club, each year we put together solider boxes. We collect a variety of small items and send hand packaged boxes to our fighting soldiers, as a gift for christmas. Other drives that I partake in are the canned food drives for the local food pantries, and the clothing drives to give winter clothing to those less fortunate. This helps to provide this vulnerable population with warmth during the cold winter months.

When I go to Bible Study, I help out the little kids there and help them study. I also help around the school. For example, on the day of the Valentine's Dance, I stayed with my cousin and helped clean up after the dance even though I wasn't an NJHS member. I volunteered without hesitation. Also, the day of school orientation I helped my cousin (who is in the NJHS)give people their schedules. Sometimes when I finish all of my work early, I help the teachers. I ask them if they need help. I also help the custodians. I clean under the tables, so the custodian doesn't have to do it. That's basically what I do to help around the

Outside of school I am apart of a church group and go to group meetings called Huddle. Through this group I am able to go on mission trips that range from just one day to a week. Last summer we went on a week-long missions trip where we demolished a house that would be rebuilt into a shelter, along with cleaning a small church house and then doing a spiritual activity with the children who came later in the day. During this trip we also delivered food to peoples’ homes who were unable to buy them themselves. While helping my community I also help my teachers and peers.

I was blessed to be able to go through such a good school system. Some people complained about going to a private, Christian school, but I really enjoyed it. I do wonder sometimes though what it would have been like to go through public schooling and if that would have changed how I am today. I think the strong morals and values I hold today were largely created by my upbringing. But, I do think I used to simply claim to be a Christian because of my family. If my parents are Christian that must mean I’m a Christian, right? Going to college made me realize that my faith is something that I have to make my own. My faith is not necessarily my parents’ faith. I have to make a decision on what I believe and what I stand for, separate from my family. I remember that around the age of 14 I started to feel distant from God and was not very strong in my faith. Throughout high school I think I had different points of feeling “spiritual highs,” but felt like my faith was lukewarm. Today, I think I am starting to separate my parent’s faith from my own, and starting to make it mine. I feel like this is something everyone has to do at some point in their life. In the past year, and in the past couple months especially, I have had a stronger relationship with God. I definitely don’t feel “strong” in my faith, but I feel like I am growing spiritually. I think being here and the

Growing up I was always told religion was false and that I was above my friends who were Christians because I believed in science. My mom was raised by Catholics, but when she graduated High School, she vowed to never be religious again. My father enjoyed feeling more elite over the “religious plebeians” that worked for him. I remember having an argument with Victoria Henderson in 3rd grade because I believed in The Big Bang and she was a creationist. Everyone took Victoria’s side, and I learned it was better to just not talk about religion. In high school, I began reaching out of my comfort zone, and also questioning what my parents had ingrained on me as a person. My first religious experience was dating a boy named Luis who was Catholic, as my mother was raised. He was only allowed to date Catholic girls, so I

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

I am committed to many different community events including Special Olympics, Ronald McDonald house, and M-Fuge. Within each of these events, I contribute my time, talent, and treasure to address others issue of inequality. Special Olympics is a community service group that helps disabled and diseased men and women bowl. This community service event means a lot to me because I have built relationships with the people. Another thing that I like it that there are Teams, but they are all very kind, nice, and loving to each other. Everyone's there to help one another and support each other. One example of this is when anyone gets a strike or spare, everyone I cheering for them giving them high fives and hugs! Another community service I do is volunteering at the The Ronald McDonald house. At the Ronald McDonald house, we make all the families staying there dinner and desert. This community service means a lot to mean because I feels good to feed those in need of food, who are poor because their trying to provide for their children. The last type of community service I do is attending a camp called M-Fuge. My youth group has gone to Belmont University (Tennessee) and North Greenville University (South Carolina) both for the M-Fuge Camp. Within this camp, we go to local underprivileged and poor schools throughout the city, helping them with homework

The great Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?” I deem this to be a vital question that everyone should ask themselves. I wholeheartedly agree that serving others impacts your community in a positive light. Therefore, I've made it my duty to volunteer with students throughout my community. This is because I’m very proactive about seeking change in the area I grew up in.

My belief in god has no firm beginning. It was just something I accepted like two plus two equals four or that chocolate ice cream tastes really good. I never really knew that you did not have to believe in god as everybody I knew for most of my life did. That was until I encountered, my cousin, Ryan’s beliefs or lack thereof. He thought

I have been volunteering in the New Albany community since 2012. I started by helping out at the local church, Five14. At Five14 I watch the kids while their parents go to the service. While watching the kids I am responsible for the task of teaching these children about God and Jesus. This a a positive and productive activity because I am able to work hand in hand with these young children and I get to see how I can help change their life with the help of God. Ever since I have started helping at the church I have seen lives being changed every week because the kids are now trying to use God in their lives everyday. This then contributes back to the community because when the kids start to change and act in better behaviors at a younger age it helps them to not grow into bad habits and bad choices later in life.

Throughout my entire life, it seemed as though everything was centered around my family’s collective core morals and an unwritten ethic code instilled in me as I grew up. My family’s principles remain a major part of my life, especially as I begin the transition to independence in the adult world. Considering my family has always been one of the most important things to me, I have always placed value on what I have learned from them and where we come from. My big, small-town family gave me a sense of what it means to help others, how we can accomplish this goal, and for what reasons. Being raised in a close-knit, Christian family with strong values will assist me in understanding how to be successful in terms of compassion and

In the past, my faith had been challenged on numerous occasions. The very first time that my faith was challenged was when I was nine. I was diagnosed with type one diabetes (T1D). This was so hard for my family and I to cope with and to understand. I did not know anything about T1D nor all the strains that came with it. I blamed God for giving me this disease, I had asked him “Why me, what did I do to deserve this?” I spent a lot of time seeking for this answer.

However, I have been challenged throughout this faith journey. I was a child born out of wedlock, which meant that my parents never married when I was born. My parents never got along, which lead me to live with my mother during the weekdays and to live with my father during the weekends and the summer. However, as I headed to my freshmen year to high school, I felt that I could not be with my father, knowing our relationship would not work out. I spend with my mother and grandmother, which lead me to reaffirm my faith and to restore my relationship as he was diagnose with diabetes and had heart surgery. Soon, I made amends, trying to overcome the guilt of leaving him, even thinking about what would happen if he had died.