Look Back

I am going to go on a brief jaunt through my history tomorrow at Bellarmine High School. I want to give the Seniors in one class an opportunity to hear how I, with the help of family, mentors, and friends, tripped and stumbled my way through the first twenty years of my life. I am going to focus on how I continually sought ways to become visible to others, to be an individual who was admired. The picture below was taken at the end of my senior year in college, my team mate and I, Frank Demeyer, had elocuted our way to a national debate championship at Montanna State.

Can you see the Old Chocolate Drop standing on the right hand side of the picture? Behind that smile was a lot of fear...I really did not love myself; I had decided to enter the seminary because I had been dreaming about becoming a priest since I was eight; I had had a serious falling out when a very close friend; and I had no grade point worth even mentioning (1.7) and a ton of classes to take before I graduated. Passion... 100 percent; Oratorical Skills...92.9 percent; Self Love...0 percent and going down. That sums up the first twenty years my life. Well, family, friends, and mentors have gotten me to a wonderful point. I have come to realize that I (we) were placed on this planet to learn how to love ourselves and help others to love themselves. I have tripped and stumbled my way into happiness. Truly I believe that the greatest thing has happened to me because I am learning to love myself.