Reflection Paper

Throughout my life I have been always searching for how to better myself and how to get closer to God. Growing up I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to go to Catholic Schools starting at the age of four years old and then ending it when I was eighteen. Attending Catholic Schools my whole life has helped me to prepare myself for what the future holds. Going to church every week during the school year I learned a lot about different types of passages and ways of dealing with my life. I have been attending West Valley for almost two years and I miss being able to have religion classes and going to church as a part of my daily schedule.

However, during the time off, I had the opportunity to travel to Honduras for a week with my church. I began to trust God that this was part of his plan for my life. I had a thought that maybe one of the reasons I did not rush off to college was so that he could use me to do good work. In preparation for the trip one of the things that had to be done was to make sure my heart was right with God. At the time I knew there were a few things in the past that I was holding onto and needed to let go of such as an unhealthy relationship that drew me away from my relationship with God. He drew my heart back to him after the fact, but there were still some grudges I was holding onto that needed to be taken care of. With the help of God I was able to forgive the person that did me harm in that unhealthy relationship. It was a relief to let go of something I was holding onto for so long. The preparation for the trip was drawing me closer to God and I was growing in my faith. I began to fully engage myself in the word, worship, and prayer. Throughout that time I started to listen to what God and trust that he had great things in store for me. During the trip I fell in love with helping the kids at the orphanages. After returning from Honduras I felt like my faith had been renewed and had a sense of

Before I started college, I struggled to figure out who I wanted to be in life, and now I clearly realize that I want to be a pastor, and I am not ashamed to say that to anyone. Before college started I rarely, if ever, read the Bible, and now I have read through the entire Bible, and have continued to read and study it in depth. I now enjoy praying with God and enjoy reading scripture, something that I could not see myself saying before college began. People tend to see me as “the Christian Guy” on the swim team, and a few swimmers and college students have come up to me to tell me about the impact that I have had on their life, which is a testament to God’s work in my own

Being raised in a Christian household was such a blessing, but my committed relationship with God really took off the summer of my junior year in high school. Growing up, there were multiple times where I prayed to give my life up to God. I had a wonderful youth group down the street where I grew up, and my youth pastor really inspired me to explore Christianity, and what it means to walk with Christ. The summer of my junior year I was fortunate to be a councilor in training at Camp Firwood, located in Bellingham, Washington. It was hard work but it gave me the opportunity to spend me summer devoted to working things out in a supportive community that really solidified my relationship with God. That summer I gave my testimony in a huge stage setting for the first time. That summer really gave me the confidence to share my faith with others and initiate conversation to grow in faith and take in other perspectives. I believe that Jesus Christ is my personal savior, and that it is a continual relationship and it doesn’t just end when we declare that we are followers. There are so many people that have come into my life and shared their experiences with me and that has really grown my faith and I hope to do that for others.

“Writing an essay is not difficult! I am actually great at it.” This is a common statement that I would formally say, and even believe. In the past, I had never felt the need to thoroughly revise my essays before. In all my past essays, I would work intensely on my first draft and then just turn the essay in. I never spent too much time re-evaluating my writing decisions before turning it in. This process had worked well for myself in the past, and as a result, each essay I turned it would be an easy “A”. When I signed up for EN100 I figured that it would be just like the other easy English class that I have taken. I assumed that I would work on an essay, turn it in, and then earn an A on it, but this was not the case. When I signed up for EN100 I figured that I could continue my previous essay writing methods, but that was quickly disproven. When I received my first graded essay, I was unsure why I earned anything but an “A” on it. It soon became clear to me that I was going to be required to change the way I formerly wrote my essays and spend more time with correcting them.

I grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. Having had grown up in the south, I was always around people who are more traditional in viewpoints, especially when surrounding the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual/Transgender, Questioning, and more community. I received my education at a high school where no one hesitated to throw around extremely derogatory terms. Throughout my schooling I had found close friends who had expressed their feelings of not fitting into their biological sex. Every time I heard them talk about their feelings I felt my heart sinking. I knew it was not fair. I found myself constantly feeling their pain. Feeling all their fear, anger, and sadness along with them because I knew that they lived in fear of people finding out who they really were and what their reactions might be. It broke my heart that they were forced into constantly fearing for their safety.

Every school has these four main academic subjects: English, Math, Science, History/Geography. The class I like the most in my eighth grade school year is History. This is because we get to learn about different time periods, different people, different religions, and so much more. We don't just sit in class and read out of a textbook. We get to do fun activities to help us understand more. While we work, we talk to our teacher and have funny and weird conversations. We make fun of each other and have a good laugh. I'm always excited to go to History class.

She compared her life to a hurricane, a natural disaster that took everything in its path and destroy any shred of light in her life. Thus, the weeks turned into years of regressive behavior that led her to believe that she was not good enough to truly be herself. She only allowed herself to be her mother’s puppet, an item only used for public occasions, for if she ever became her own self, she would be outcasted. Yet, during those times I recall a shout in the cave of darkness, a murmured voice saying: Carpe Diem. Seize the day. My brother used those words when I was little —he was an extroverted fellow who vocalized whatever he felt because he was confident in whom he was. Nevertheless, I was an introverted, insecure, and self-conscious kid who was silenced by the public because they scared me. Fear ruled my actions. Fear ruled my mind. Fear ruled me; yet, my brother’s words rang a certain alarm in my head when I grew up. Thus, I realized that my individuality was stolen. My silence was bought, and my uniqueness was used as a weapon for society’s cruel expectations. I noticed that the world has so many beliefs, ideas, and aspirations that I wanted my own drum to beat in my own rhythm.

The Jesus and Christian Community class at Fresno Pacific University is a course where a student can further develop their relationship and understanding of the Bible while discovering a relationship with Christ. All incoming freshmen are required to take this course as a part of their general education requirements which focuses on the book of Matthew, his interpretation, and the historical background of the Bible. One of our assignments is to help incoming pupils understand a certain verse and its purpose. The section we will be focusing on is the in Matthew chapter 17 verses 14 through 21 in addition to the Sadducees and other related topics. Jesus has followers which are the general public and disciples who are the people who claim to be devoted to God called the Pharisees and Sadducees. The faction of the disciples called the Sadducees are a group that are not characteristically what one would depict as humble servant of Christ. They followed their own set of rules and had standards that were different from the Pharisees, the followers of Christ, and Jesus himself. As we continue this discussion, we will see the importance of the verse in Matthew along with the roles the Sadducees and the things that influenced their cultural views.

“What’s the point? We are not going to win anyway” M argued with the coaches

Over the history of this country, many families across the globe have come to the U.S. in hopes of a better life. My family was one of the many that decided to leave our home country and come to the United States. We never realistically imagined coming to America, but when we did, it was a real dream come true. Knowing I was coming to this country as a student was especially exciting for me personally. We were so excited about this new adventure and the opportunities we would have, despite the many challenges that lay ahead. Two of the obstacles I had to overcome, were having to learn a new language, and build new relationships.

In school, I used to loathe the icebreakers that involved saying an interesting fact about oneself. I would fumble around and iterate some unoriginal sentiment about my favorite color or animal and leave without actually providing substance about myself. This all changed after I lost the vision in my right eye and could tell people about the three-inch needle that pierces my eye multiple times every year. I thoroughly enjoy watching people squirm as I chuckle and explain the process.

To go along with being an athlete, I am a student. To be able to get playing time, you need to have good grades. My parents didn’t just push me to be a good athlete, but to get good grades. I had higher expectations compared to my brother. But that pushed me to keep my grades up and do get an A on assignments and tests. This impacted who I was and what I decided to value. It was important to my parents that I got good grades, but to me it was too because it helped me get into college and it made me feel good about myself. Being a student, just like being an athlete, teaches me to be diligent in the work that I have in front of me. It also teaches me time management, and what I need to get done compared to going out with my friends.

A brief overview and background: I went on a mission trip with my church Youth group to a deaf village in Jamaica. While we were there, we built dorm rooms and classrooms for the children living there. The impact that trip had on my life was amazing. It made me realize just how good we have it in the United States of America.When I am hungry or upset and I didn't get the newest trend clothing, I always think back to the children down in Jamaica. They literally have nothing. At the deaf village, all the children are foster kids. Their parents gave them away because they did not want to deal with their disabilities. I have never taken my parents for granted again, because of what we have and the relationships we have in the U.S.are very precious, We are a very blessed nation.

I was raised in a church environment and baptized at a young age. I know this was the right thing to do to be “saved.” If I was to leave this earth, I knew if Jesus was the head of my life and savior that I would spend eternity in heaven with Him and other deceased loved ones. It was not until I started Union University did I take it more seriously about finding a new church home and form a foundation for my family. I knew that times would be hard and my faith would be tested while attending school full time, raising a family, and working full time. It was at that moment, I knew I needed strength from the Lord to keep me pushing. Because Union University kept everything based on a Christian foundation, I have a deeper understanding of everything being based on God and Godly ways.