Sarina+C’s+Final+AmEx+Speech+2017

I had a different experience than most of you prior to high school. People don’t usually know this about me, but I went to Catholic school. When I was old enough to be put into elementary school, the fact that it was Catholic never really phased me. I had seen my brothers go to school in a uniform everyday, I had seen them at their First Holy Communions, and I had gone to church every Sunday since I was born. So, naturally, on my first day, I rolled up to school in my knee length skirt, polo shirt, and plaid scrunchy ready to take on the world. Little did I know what was in store for me.

My optimism left as soon as I started making “friends”. I could tell you a plethora of stories about this struggle, but all you really need to know is that the majority of catholic school girls were mean. However, my main problem wasn’t with the social aspects, it was with the school itself. For starters, if you weren’t following dress code the teachers would make sure to fix it right then and there. If anyone had any color on their shoes besides black, then they would be told to buy new ones. The teachers had no care or regard for the expenses. Boys with hair that was “too long” were forced to get haircuts. If girls wore makeup, nail polish, or jewelry, they were told to take it off immediately. Nobody had the freedom to express themselves. Additionally, teachers constantly gave students a “point off” for being out of this ridiculously strict dress code. This was a part of the demerit point system that was set in place. Points were taken off for nearly everything, nobody could earn points back, and people were punished after losing a certain amount. Don’t ask me how this seemed like a logical or fair form of discipline.

Another major issue with Catholic school was, because of religious beliefs, students were never really taught sex ed. The one thing I am able to recall was in fifth grade, when the girls and boys were separated into different rooms to talk about our “growing bodies”. Nothing was helpful or informative. The only memorable experiences were #1: when my 60 year old teacher put a tampon in a coffee cup and #2: when the whole class watched a video that, in summary, pretty much told us we’ll go to Hell if we have sex (we had to sign a permission slip to watch it).

We prayed when we got to school, before we went to “recess”, before we went to lunch, and before we left school. We had religion class where we learned things like why Jonah was eaten by the whale, and then we were tested on these things (oddly enough, these tests were always the hardest). We went to church every Wednesday, and if we were late, we had to sit in shame in the library, until mass got out (and a point was taken off). One time (and Gena can back me up on this) a student got in trouble for talking about a Bar Mitzvah.

Part of the school mission statement was this: “ We, as faithful followers of Jesus Christ, create, nurture, and maintain a community of love through worship, reconciliation, healing, formation, education and service.” This is complete bs. Nobody was there to help when a student was struggling, students were punished for not being perfect, and teachers (and the principal) never seemed to care about an individual’s feelings. It was one of the most judgemental and unsympathetic environments I’ve ever been a part of. Nobody ever practiced what they preached.

Quite honestly, I hated Catholic school. Only after the first year of enduring it, I wished with all my heart that my mom would send me to a public school, but I knew that I didn’t have this freedom. I wish that I had the choice to decide if I wanted to take First Holy Communion, go to Reconciliation, or be Confirmed in my faith. I knew I would be judged by the rest of my family if I didn’t follow through with these sacraments, like my brothers had done. Even now, I want the choice to be able to explore different religions and ideas. I want to be able to think for myself, instead of thinking and believing the way others want me to. Being sheltered in the Catholic faith has led to many problems for me, that I have been slowly able to break away from in high school. However, my parents won’t accept a different way as long as I’m living under their roof. I will be forced to go to Catholic Church every Sunday until I leave for college.

Luckily, I don’t have it as bad as other people I know. My cousin (who’s now in college) has told me about her life dealing with the restrictions of religion that her crazy mom and stepdad had forced upon her. Every day after school, she had to pray with her mom all day until dinner time. She didn’t have any time for friends, or non-religious activities. Even when my cousin came over to visit (which wasn’t very often), her and her mom would disappear into their rooms to pray. She was locked away, with religion as the prison and her mom as the warden.

Don’t get me wrong, I think learning about religion and/or being religious is great. But being forced into one? Not so much. The idea that the beliefs of kids need to align with the beliefs of their parents is old fashioned and unrealistic. I want to live in an America where religion isn’t forced upon children by parents or schools. An America where people are able to express themselves in every aspect of life, without being judged. And one where kids are able to grow up and learn about different values, ideas, and religions and decide for themselves what they want to believe.

Thank you.