God is one thing that is not appreciated in many teenager’s lives. We get overwhelmed with school, friends and other social pressures that God seems to slip our minds. Not too long ago, I was one of those people. My religious life had run out from under me and I did not see it coming back any time soon. Caught up in the hustle of high school, I had more than lost my way in faith. I only went to church when I was forced and spent the whole time thinking about how much I did not want to be there. I had friends. I had school. I thought there were many more pressing commitments than this. In senior year, life finally began to change. Most of my friends had graduated the year before, so I found myself suddenly alone in a school filled with students. I was never able to make friends well, and found it difficult to hold conversation with people, so I often sat in silence with a few people I hardly knew. This was not the senior year that I hoped for. I struggled faithfully and emotionally for months, asking myself what kind of God would make me feel like this and why he left me so alone. In January, announcements came to sign up for Boys Kairos, a religious retreat for seniors. I had no interest in going, what could a religious retreat tell someone who had lost their religion long ago? But something called out inside of me, “Tristan, sign up. You do not want to miss this.” Without any hesitation, I walked in and wrote down my name. A few weeks and about $200 later, I was surrounded by guys I had hardly made passing words to in the four years we had been in school together on a bus headed to a retreat center. I felt familiar anxiety creep over me as I wondered what exactly I had gotten myself in to. I decided to let go and embrace whatever came, hoping some good could come out of it. Kairos 92 was the most impactful experience I have had. People I always tied with a certain stereotype were opening up and growing right in front of me. Shells were breaking off and hearts were coming out. Before I knew it, I was joining them. Telling everyone our stories and opening up about things we could barely think about helped us all come together as one. I was finally part of something. Through this experience, I realized God is in the people we meet. He led me to the people I met on Kairos and he leads us all to the ones we need, but he does not do it alone and we need to give in to his will. I could have denied his calling and went on with my life as it was, but I opened myself to God, even if I did not fully know it yet. Knowing that God has control and guides me out of any hardship is freeing because I can give myself to him. I plan to use what I have learned through this in everything I do. I am going to become a high school guidance counselor to help people who feel lost or abandoned realize that they are important and can make their lives better than they could imagine. Having felt the way that many of them do, I will be able show that hard times will not last forever and that God’s plan will guide them through life, if they only allow it. Essay contest Winners Earlier this spring, the Catholic New World and the Office for Catholic Schools announced an essay contest for seniors in Catholic high schools, asking them to write about where they find God in their life. This year’s winners are: First prize, $1,000, to Tristan Mayer, Marist High School Second prize, $500, to Jack Gardner, St. Rita of Cascia High School Third prize, $300, to Mary Frances Sexton, Regina Dominican High School.