Who do you think you are?

So as you all should know, Osama bin Laden was killed yesterday. I got on facebook and that was all people were posting about. I watched as many of my friends commented about how happy they were and they were going to celebrate. It kind of made me think. I thought "It is one thing to be happy, but to go party in the streets and in front of the White House." So I looked at one of my friends post and this is what it said:

"Let us remember what Divine Mercy is all about; Unmerited forgiveness. Yes, we should have hope that the death of a terrorist brings greater peace and security to the world and to our homes... but let us remember and attempt to emulate the words of the newly beatified pontiff, "Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil."-Michael Villanueva

I was really intrigued by this because it is exactly what I was feeling so I posted the same thing on my status. One of my friends liked what it said and posted it on her status. Well her friend did not agree. She started to criticize me and told me to shut up because I was clueless.

I was offended.

I will not usually argue over the internet but I felt that I needed to stand up for myself and my beliefs. She proceeded to tell me that I was too young to know about these issues and my parents needed to have a serious talk with me.

So I stood up for myself. But I have a question. Who does this lady think she is? How can she tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about?

We live in an age where people think that it's their way or the high way. I have been catching myself doing the same thing even though it may not be as extreme. It made me realize that I need to be more conscious about what I choose to say to people.

So even though I was a little ticked at what the lady said to me, she taught me a life lesson, and for that I am grateful.

What does the future hold?

We have no idea what the future holds for us. In a matter of seconds everything we prayed, wished, and hoped for could be down the drain. With one slip, one mistake, everything that we had going for us could be gone. This is one of the main reasons that I try not to get to wrapped up in what I "know will be my future" and try to focus on now. I work to make the choices that I think will benefit me in the end.
I will be the first to admit that my life has not gone exactly as I planned it to. I have had ups and downs, happy moments as well as sad, but I wouldn't trade any of it. I may not know what tomorrow holds, but I know that I am happy with who I am today.
I wouldn't trade any of even the worst moments in my life, because without them I wouldn't be the person I am today. In junior high I was at the bottom. I didn't like myself, other people made fun of me, and I was generally unhappy with who I was. I started trying to please others instead of myself and it only made things worse. As soon as I decided that I didn't want that for myself, I started looking at my life one day at a time. I did the things that made me proud of myself, and it made all the difference.
You may not know what the future holds, but if you just work on being the best you can be one day at a time, you can move mountains.

Fact from Fiction

How do you know if something is true or not... We have the legends such as Bigfoot and the Loch Nes Monster, and we question those as children until someone explains to us how that can't possibly be real. Let's apply the same thing to religion. People tell us that there is an "Ultimate Being" (God) out there that created us and everything around us, the evidence that we have is a book (the Bible). Now, if we aren't willing to believe in a monster with abnormally large feet how are we supposed to believe in an all powerful God?

The answer is Faith.

I think I have posted about faith before, but it is my favorite word. Today during the confirmation class that I teach the kids started questioning if the bible was really true, and it made me happy that I was able to explain to them that faith is all that we can rely on.
I also started to think that this is the whole meaning behind confirmation. This is a step saying that this is what you truly believe and that if you want to take this step you need to understand. So this doubt actually turned into a lesson that I believe strengthened everyone's relationship with God.
Doubt is not bad, it helps you grow and build your faith!

"You can't let fear keep you from your dreams, we can get through this!" - Chelsea Thomas

The above statement really got me thinking... Why do humans doubt what they know they can do. I mean you could be getting an opportunity that not many others have and that you have been striving for all your life, but you still question yourself, "What if I go and fail?", "What if I hate it there?" These are the questions that keep amazing people from accomplishing amazing things. If they would just follow their hearts and not worry about what could happen and just go with the flow, we could accomplish so much more!
I have a few examples of this.

1. As most of you know I have been really wanting to go to Franciscan University in Steubenville Ohio. Well, money is really the only thing that is keeping me there and my family and I are doing everything we can to get enough money to send me there. Well I keep thinking about all of the sacrifices my family is making to try and send me there and it really makes me question my decision. "What if I get there and fail?" or "What if I hate Ohio?" and it is making me second guess my dreams in order to please others, and that is not the kind of person I am. I mean I feel bad that my parents have to give stuff up for me to accomplish my dreams, but they can really see that this is what I want to do and they are willing to do that for me and I think it is awesome.
2. When we were getting ready to go on our Disneyland trip for choir and I still owed over $300 two weeks before the trip. "I'm not going to get the money." Is the only thought that was going through my mind. And right when I was about to give up, people, out of the kindness of their hearts, donated the money to me and it all worked out in the end.
I'm going to venture off that topic for a little while. But, don't you love when your friends say these profound statements? As soon as Chelsea said this I told her that I was putting it as my facebook status, I didn't mention that it would be the basis for my blog. I think that these statements can inspire people to look at not only themselves but others in a whole new way.
Thank you all for reading my blog. I hope that I actually say something meaningful to at least one of you!

I doubt it...

Do you ever have those moments where you just don't believe what you hear? Or you just don't agree with something that you are told is the truth. I think that is a pretty common thing. Doubt is very powerful in my opinion. If you doubt what you know to be the truth, it can have a negative effect on you.

Let's try to look at things a little differently. Can doubt make you stronger? I know that when I hear the word doubt, negativity flows into my thoughts almost instantly. But after pondering it for a little while, I realized that doubting can turn out positive.

I'm sure that if you have had a bad experience like a death or other tragic experience in your life it has caused you to question, "Why would this happen to me?" That is the perfect example of doubt. Well I have learned from experience that when you doubt, it causes you to think. When you start to think about something that interests you, you begin to research it. When you research it you may find out that if you look at it in a different way it makes more sense and you understand it better.

I think it kind of goes hand it hand with optimism. If you have a positive outlook on doubt, it can have a positive outcome and if you have a negative outlook, it can have a negative outcome.

So, I'll leave you with this, next time you are doubting something, just think of how it can make you a better, stronger, more likable person rather than letting the negative thoughts over power you.

How far east can you go before you're heading west?

Do you ever feel like your life is bipolar? I often find myself thinking, "Wow, everything was great, what happened?" It boggles my mind how things can be going great one moment then completely horrible the next. The world is funny that way.
I have experiences like this all the time. For example, I could wake up and be having the worst day at home, my parents are yelling at me, I don't have any socks, or I drop my toothbrush in the toilet. Then when I get to school it is like none of that ever happened. I get to school and I am the same "happy guy" that I always am.
Or it could be completely opposite. My day could start off in the most amazing way, such as finding $20 in my pocket, ect. But then when I get to school I discover I failed the Government test that I thought I did so well on.
I have learned through these trials that I have faced, that you just gotta go with the flow. I have learned that whatever happens happens and I have no control over how things will turn out because no matter what I do they are always going to turn out the same way.
So here is my advice for the day... Go with the flow, even if you really want things to go a certain way. Just remember that life is what you make it, you can focus on the good or the bad.

For All Is Through Him

"Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Faith... Kind of a hard subject to grasp huh... Makes you really start to think about how you can trust in something you can't see.  Why would people be willing to give up their lives for something that might possibly have just been in their head?
     I often find myself pondering this very question.  Why do I trust, with all of my heart, in a God that I cannot see?  I think that this is a question that won't be answered until the day that I die.
     I just find it hard to even think that someone could make all of this up.  Or that the Catholic Church, the bible, Jesus Chirst, were all just part of a sick joke that someone was trying to see how many people they could get to believe.
     I guess that is the whole objective of faith, that you believe something no matter what.  What we have faith in defines who we are as a person. Without faith in something, our lives would have no meaning, no purpose.   Having faith in something gives us something to strive to find out more about, something that can always keep us wondering.
     Whether that item you have faith in is big or small, just having something that can keep you wondering is all you need.  It helps you to grow as a person and better understand yourself.
     I am glad that I have faith in Jesus Christ through the Catholic Church because it has helped to make me into the person that I am.  It has helped me to find myself and see the good in others.  I have something that I can always turn to in the good times and the bad, and I know that it will never abandon me.
     Faith is my absolute favorite word.  It explains what motivates me to become a better person, and to love the people I come in contact with.  I know that with the faith that I have, I can move mountains, I can be the person that I want to become and no living person can change that!

GOT FAITH?  I DO!

Introduction

Have you ever had those moments where you just had to stop whatever it is that you might have been doing to think about something.  This blog is basically here for me to explain my view on the things throughout the last semester of my senior year that make me stop and think.  I think that this will help me grow as an individual and find out a little bit about myself.   I hope that some people will be able to learn about me and see my perspective as well as share theirs.  I think this can be a great learning experience for all.


Now for my first topic:


Have you ever wondered what your purpose in life was?  I find myself pondering this question quite often.  How do you find yourself? I think that the best way to answer this is to follow your heart.  The bible (I am very into my religion and will reference it from time to time) explains that God has a plan for each and every one of us.  I pray about how I'm supposed to live my life, but its not like God is going to part the clouds, have trumpets blaring, and come down from heaven just to tell my what His plan for me is.  I know that sounds awesome but I am pretty sure it's not going to happen, and I am fine with it.  I think that the whole goal of our existence is to discover who we are through our trials and tribulations.  I feel that I am called to teach about God and His love, but I am honestly not quite sure what form of teaching I am called to use.  Right now I think I'm supposed to teach religion at a Catholic high school, but I could be called to youth ministry, or even the priesthood.  I am leaving this decision up to God, I'm going to go with the flow and see where He leads me because ultimately I know that before anything else I am called to follow Him.  Do you see why this question has me thinking, I could go on and on about my opinion on this but I will stop here.

You can feel free to ask me question or even post your own experiences or comments!  Thanks for reading!