The walls of Xavier weren’t built just to teach students how to solve for x, how our government passes a bill, what the Council of Nicea was, or the definition of iambic pentameter. At Xavier, we are blessed to have the opportunity to talk about God every day. We are blessed to get opportunities to deepen our faith and relationships with other people and God.
The walls of Xavier that we are confined in for six hours and fifty-five minutes a day are a blessing. We get to come here and learn about not just academics, but more importantly, ourselves. At Xavier, I have learned many academic things, but the most important lessons have helped me find myself.
My freshman year I learned respect. I learned not only to respect the upperclassmen, but to respect myself. I learned to respect myself enough to not go out and get hammered on the weekends. I respected myself enough to make the right choices with friends on what to do in our free time.
My sophomore year, I learned that life goes on. That year I learned we are all thrown a curveball every once in a while, but you can’t let that whiffed swing keep you from a homer your next pitch. Life doesn’t stop for us. Life doesn’t stop if there is a death, tough homework, or stress. Whatever it is, life is moving on.
Junior year, I learned about my faith. I discovered through Kairos that I am truly loved. How can we not love ourselves when God loves us more than we can fathom? I learned that it’s okay to question your faith, but you have to remember two very important mantras. One is, “Let go and let God.” We can’t hold on to everything and do it by ourselves. The second mantra is, “Trust the process.” This is one I’m still working on. It’s hard to not be in control of my own life. I have no worries though because God has a plan for all of us and we need to just pray for the strength to trust in that plan.
Senior year, I’ve learned that life is short. Tell people how much you love them and care about them. Befriend the freshman who is picked on. Be loving to the boy who doesn’t have a lot of friends. Smile and say hi to everyone. Do whatever you can to make someone’s day better because we don’t know how many days or minutes we have left.
So Saints, start learning our lessons that aren’t in the textbook but here in the now. The answers are right in front of us.