April 2018

          I started eighth grade at Dominican and school was very rough for me. I was doing so badly that I started to put it on myself and think I was stupid, and I started to hate myself.  My faith life went downhill.  I didn’t understand why this was happening to me, and it made me doubt God.  A couple of months later, I went on the CYO ski trip, and I really encountered Jesus.  In the evenings, we would have spiritual activities like Mass and Adoration.  Hearing other high school students share their faith and their struggles in a small group helped me realize that everyone has ups and downs and difficulties, but that God is there. After that I was on a high for Jesus.  I became more involved in CYO, and as I focused more on God and less on my problems in school, life was better.

          Fastforward to Friday, May 15,  and my life basically fell apart. It was the Friday before exam week at Dominican, and I had a world geography test, so it was a very stressful time already.  Later that night,I found out my dad got diagnosed with cancer. Once again, I felt like my life was going downhill. My faith life fell apart and I really hated God. I didn’t study for any exams. Things were bad at school and hard at home.  About two weeks later I went to Gatlinburg with CYO, and I encountered Christ again through the prayers and support of everyone on the trip, but I was still mad at God because I couldn’t understand why he would allow my dad to get sick. 

          That summer was super hard. I spent a lot of time with my friends because I just didn’t like seeing my dad sick. At the start of freshman year, I was still struggling in school, and my dad was at home sick and on the verge of dying. On August 29, 2015, my dad passed away.  I will never forget I was laying on the couch watching Grey’s Anatomy and my grandma came running in saying that we had to go into our parents room. I went in there and just dropped to the floor. My mom, my five other siblings and I, my grandma, and our close friend all were surrounding my dad when he took his final breath. That’s something I never want anyone to experience because that was the worst experience ever. I felt very low.

          But I still had to get through school, and I was still struggling. I would study for a week before the test and still fail, so at this point I really didn’t have any faith at all that I would be able to get through school. I went through all of freshman year pretty much with no confidence and I felt defeated.

          The summer came finally and I went on another CYO beach trip.  It was the night where we had Confession and Adoration. I met with Fr. Tim and I told him I didn’t believe in anything; I didn’t believe in God; I didn’t know what life even meant. I was confused because everything they told us in our religion classes didn’t add up.  Why would God take my dad--he was such a good man! If God can do anything, why would he take my dad away from me? Fr. Tim suggested that I focus on building my relationship with God through the spiritual activities offered at CYO. I did this, and began to feel more hopeful.

          Sophomore year began and my struggle with school continued. I studied every night with my mom. I’d know the material when I was studying with my mom and then when I’d go to take the test, I’d blank and wouldn’t know anything. I was doing everything the teacher told me to do to pass the class, and I was still failing. At this point my faith life was lacking and I was just kind of going through the motions every day. I began to realize that maybe Dominican just wasn’t for me. It was really hard to say that because I only knew Dominican. My mom graduated from Dominican and she taught there. My two older sisters went to Dominican. Everyone we’re friends with went to Dominican and I thought that they wouldn’t support me since they all love Dominican.  That made me feel bad. Leaving Dominican was probably the hardest decision I have ever had to make. Imagine a sophomore having to decide to leave the only school she ever knew!

          I talked with Miss Mary [Bielski, SCS Youth Minister] about what was going on. She prayed with me and helped me see that I needed God in my life to help me make the right decision, and prayer became part of my decision process.   My mom and I started talking about other schools. I made plans to spend the day at De La Salle and Chapelle, but I had to keep it all secret because I didn’t know if I was really transferring or not. When I walked into Chapelle, it felt like home. 

          So you’re probably reading this and realize that I did make the switch over to Chapelle. Transferring to Chapelle was probably the BEST decision I’ve ever made. Most importantly, the people who I thought wouldn’t be supportive of my decision were actually supportive. My Dominican friends just wanted me to be happy.  My CYO friends supported me in every decision I made. (For any parents reading this, I would highly recommend you get your child involved in CYO because I can say that some of my best friends are from CYO. You get to meet kids from a bunch of different schools. CYO is a great environment.) 

          Today, my faith life is rocketing. I am so happy to be a chipmunk and now I know I belong at Chapelle. That’s where I’m going to make my mark like my sisters and my mom made their mark at Dominican. I am Senior Class Historian, I am an ambassador, I’m in the pro-life club, I run cross-country, and I manage track. The faculty and staff at Chapelle care for you so much that it’s like one big family. I also have made wonderful friends at Chapelle who have been there for me through thick and thin and I wouldn’t be involved in everything I’m in if it wasn’t for them. I can honestly say I love Chapelle but I wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for the Man Upstairs. As Chapelle’s motto says “Deus Providebit:” God Will Provide!