While growing up there has always been a clash of a Christian life and traditional culture. The things I did not understand in Christianity, I just replaced with traditional customs, I was confused. Now that I understand things about Christianity, the confusion that I felt has changed to clarity. Granted, I do not know everything there is to know about my religion that is part of my walk with God. Christianity is my religion, but not all Christians see the world the same. I see the world as something that needs to be lifted up, something more than just things of the world, something divine and beautiful. I see reality as the lives we experience here and now. Not only in the physical world but also what is happening within my soul spiritually, within the universe, such as spiritual warfare. I believe God sent Jesus to save us from Satan, sin, and essentially ourselves. When we die I believe we will be judged and we will go to either heaven or hell. When we die it is not the end but rather the beginning. I do not believe that we will be reincarnated; our lives are our one chance to be what God wants us to be.
Life to me is full of hope, and suffering, but mostly love. The world is not chained to us directly chained to us, all the vices of it effect us. For most people the world is amazing, but it is also our burden. The world in this context is the materialistic, superficial world. The earth is beautiful as a creation from God, and people loose perspective of this. Happiness is not attained by how many things you possess; but how much love you have, or how much hope you have. Suffering is inevitable, we cannot help it, but what we can do is make each moment that we can control into a moment that is hopeful. What I value is hope, and love. Not only for family, friends, but above all else, for God. All people have a hope that soon suffering will end, I believe that only through God this can happen. Life should not be a road that never ends, nor like a race track where the point of no control is so near, but like a steady drive through scenery you can stop to look, but there is something that you are longing to reach.
In friendships, I try to choose people with the same or similar characteristics to me. Similar beliefs are important but I like friends from everywhere. My friends are not restricted to one certain kind of people or belief. Friends are important to me; they are a support system that everyone needs. If your support system does not make you a person for the better then that support system needs to go away. Choosing friends is hard; it is easy to fall in with the wrong crowd because we all want to feel accepted and liked. The trick is I think is that you never compromise your ideals and morals-your beliefs.
Through out school I have been really into sports. I love them. When your adrenaline is pumping, your heart is pounding, it is such a rush. Sports are a big part of my life. They have helped me become disciplined, respectful, and hard working. The work ethic it instills helps enormously. Juggling around school, sports, family, a social life keeps you on the ball. I like to be busy, but sometimes sports consume all of me. I eat, sleep, and breathe sports. Whether it is soccer, track, or basketball, I start to lose sleep; I replay every mistake in my head over and over. I start to doubt my abilities, and my mental toughness then I gets into a slump. I worry endlessly about what this person think, or what will that person will say. I critic myself so ruthlessly that the love I once had now is my burden. Then I realize that sports should not consume all of me; I love them and I enjoy them but I should not make them my life. I need to keep in perspective, that God gave me these abilities and to God I should use them for. My worldview has helped show me this. The worldly thing that I am holding so high might be my downfall, but when I put things in perspective, everything begins to be calm and life seems less chaotic.