Growing up, I never saw myself as religious. My parents had their own unique experiences with religion and decided to raise both me and my brother with the autonomy to choose what religion we wanted to follow, or if we chose one at all.Â
My mom grew up going to mass every Sunday and attended a private Catholic school for elementary and middle school before switching to a public school for her high school years. My dad attended Sunday mass pretty consistently before his parents divorced, and he had to focus on some other matters.Â
It was nice to have the freedom to explore a variety of religions without feeling obligated to remain loyal or to understand a religion I was baptized into as a baby. I enjoyed trying to understand lessons in Sunday school; granted, part of the reason why I was there was to have some time to hang out with friends from school. I also enjoyed hearing and learning about other religious beliefs in school and from my friends beyond Christianity. I never felt much like a religious person despite my enjoyment in learning about other religions (nothing against anyone who is religious, just not for me!).Â
Now you may be wondering, how in the world did I end up choosing to go to a private religious institution for college, especially considering my severe lack of religious background? The answer to that goes back to my first time touring St. Bonaventure in my junior year. I went to the tour and welcome day event with my dad. My dad always had a knack for listening and not judging me, so it made perfect sense that he would be the one to accompany me on my first college tour in late April of 2022. As we spent the day on the college campus, I enjoyed hearing about the way religion was talked about and viewed on campus. I also felt an incredible sense of belonging and a homey feeling throughout my entire half a day or so on campus.Â
As a junior here at St. Bonaventure, I can say I definitely have learned quite a bit about religious faith and its various forms, and continue to do so. I may not know exactly how to word my relationship to religion. Over the years, I have crafted many values and beliefs about the world without relating them to a higher power, so it is difficult for me to associate those beliefs with religious beliefs that do place an origin or relate to a higher power of some form (like God). I also deeply believe that many religions hold a form of a coping mechanism to understand the world around us, and look different for everyone, including me.Â
I quite enjoy who I am, the beliefs I hold based on the experiences I’ve lived. I also know that learning about various religions and exploring how different religious beliefs match up to my own is not far away, should I choose to change my mind in the future. I’m very thankful for all the people I surround myself with who have allowed me to learn and grow more about myself and my religious beliefs, or are a call or text away if I want to know more about various subjects.