2. Mazur 2
In his or her own way, every man or woman is considered unique and special.
This is one of the wonderful examples of how beautiful life truly is. The uniqueness of
an individual; however, is highly based on the different life experiences one has lived
through. Someone like Chris McCandless for example, has had a multitude of unique
experiences that make up who he was as an individual that not many people today can
relate to except for a select few. I myself, like Chris from Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild,
find that I too possess unique characteristics because of my inimitable experiences during
my lifetime, especially my tenure in the country of Poland, which I found out was a lot
different than the lifestyle I was accustomed to.
Nothing says “unique” like spending some time in a foreign country, just based on
the word foreign itself. The people, the language, the customs, the scenery, and the
culture were in some way different than my lifestyle here in America. It was evident
from the moment I walked out of the airport doors in Warsaw, not just the obvious
change in language. My brother and I both stayed with my father’s side of the family
about 50 kilometers from the Polish and Ukrainian border, about a five and a half hour
drive from Warsaw to a small farming village called Kolonia Mojsławice. For a period
of a month and a half I was in a foreign land living without most amenities I enjoyed
back home. I was at a point in my life where I did not fully understand how quickly my
life had changed. At first, I treated it more like a vacation, but it was far from it.
I was accustomed to a normal two-story house with a back and front yard in a
quiet suburb outside of Philadelphia, but here I was thousands of miles away from home
living on a farm with the family. I was forced to communicate in Polish because the only
one who spoke English was my twin. Being a well off American citizen was something
3. Mazur 3
most people from the village would be jealous of because of the lack of jobs in Poland,
leaving many people stuck earning poor wages for long hours of work on the farm. I got
to know many hard working people during my stay there, which made me thankful for
everything I was blessed with back home.
As an eleven year old boy my chores at home were nothing compared to taking
care of a large sized farm and tending to the livestock. As the days went by I started to
grow accustomed to the lifestyle there little by little, feeling as if I was leaving my
American citizenship and embracing head on my full heritage. I woke up early on
mornings and began helping out my uncle with simple tasks around the farm. When
work was needed out in the field to weed the crops with a hoe, Andrew and I would join
my family. I began to understand how hard people had to work in order to make a decent
living, while I had it made just back home in the States. I kept thinking about all my
friends back home and how so little was expected of them around the house, while over
here this hard work was expected because everyone in the family has to pull their own
weight. That summer I worked harder than I ever had before and I could tell by the
exhaustion and the blisters that covered my hand.
After working hard all day on their own family’s farms, some of the kids from the
village would go out and play soccer at a run down club where my dad used to play when
he was a kid some forty years ago. It was almost as if I was reliving the experience that
my dad had as a child and the diversity between his childhood and mine was almost like
two separate worlds. That vacation was one that I would never forget because of the
lessons and experiences I gained from my time there. For the first time in my life I
realized truly how lucky and fortunate I am to have been born in this country because I
4. Mazur 4
could have easily been born into a family of any of my friends back in Poland.
Especially at such a young age, such a powerful message was instilled in me because I
experienced a life quite different from my own. I remember sitting there thinking about
how many kids out there who are babied all their lives and don’t understand the value of
a dollar are culturally ignorant to the rest of the world that’s out there. Since than I have
been to Poland an additional three times and I really understand the true meaning of
diversity.
I always consider my first trip to Poland being one of the first formidable
experiences of my life but to say it was the most would be lying. That trip did, however;
open my eyes up to a whole new perspective on life that I could never have experienced
at home. I was still a young boy though, with a very small capacity to understand the true
meaning of change. The tenure of my vacation to Poland comes nowhere near close to
the impact moving across the United States did. During the trip, I was being pulled out
of my shell, my so-called “comfort zone” but this time I was forced to accept permanent
change. There was no going back after August 5, 2004. I would have to say, that on that
day, something inside of me finally snapped and the effects of that lasted move were felt
for longer than I thought possible.
It all began on the evening of my brother and me’s fourteenth birthday. I was still
living in the quiet suburb of Morrisville, Pennsylvania and like with every birthday, I was
contemplating on how life was going to change by being one year older. It was my
eighth grade year at St. John the Evangelist and of course I was excited to continue on my
Catholic education as one chapter in my life was almost at an end, and the transition into
high school drew closer and closer. I had high expectations for that new experience and
5. Mazur 5
the thought of having the company of all my pals from grade school, along with my
brother Andrew joining me along the way sounded comforting. The reality of the matter
was that it was that very evening, around ten at night, that my parents broke the news to
us that the Grand Canyon State would be our new home and we’d be living in the capital
city. Not only would I be letting go of all I knew was home to me, my friends but also
the look and feel of the lush green forests of Pennsylvania. I was the furthest thing from
happy and excited for my new future; devastated in fact would be the best term. So as
any normal kid would do, I pushed my parents away from me and turned to two basic
things that brought me comfort, my skateboard and the blanket of stars overhead.
Looking back on that day now I wish I could have been there for that sad fourteen
year-old lying on his board staring at the sky and say, “kid things will turn out alright in a
few years.” My brother was upset as well, but not affected by it as much as I was. My
eighth grade year seemed liked I was climbing ever so higher, I was making tons of new
friends from different public schools and my skills at skateboarding progressed, which
defined my life at the time, so for me life was set. It was just so unfair that all these good
events were happening to me and in the end, all to be viciously taken away. I struggled
with the whole process, yet I cannot say I regret the way I spent the rest of that year, in
fact I lived it out the best a kid could have.
It was the hardest thing to say good-bye to all my friends who I kept near and dear
to me. It broke my heart to watch my close friends cry, yet I myself struggled to keep the
tears from rolling down my cheeks. My family took one huge Uhal truck and a total of
three cars with us and headed off on a four-day journey across the vast country. I
watched my surroundings and climate change as we crossed state lines and I knew we
6. Mazur 6
had a total of 4,283.2 miles to make before reaching our new house. The trip took a lot
out of me because I was such an emotional wreck and happened to be stuck in a uhal
truck with no contact with the place I called my home for at least four days. I tried my
hardest to get engulfed in the excitement of moving to a new city and exploring America,
which seemed so easy for my parents, yet it was apparent I was swallowed up by my own
sorrow. My parents could see how hard it was for me but at times it almost seemed like
they didn’t seem to care. This infuriated me and caused a lot of hate to grow towards the
decision or mistake, as I referred to it at time, of my parents They never even gave my
brother and I a solid, rational explanation for the big move besides that much of our
family has moved down there and they really wanted to venture down there themselves.
I almost feel ashamed now to think of the depressed thoughts that I contemplated
during my first year living here. Being the pessimist I am, I never looked at moving here
in a positive way. Instead, I would focus on every little single thing I missed about my
old life and the good ole’ East Coast. I guess the best way to I can describe it is that I
was a small plant forced out by my roots and moved from the soil, which supported me
and gave me life, to a new home where I could just not seem to settle in and grow
comfortably. Arriving there that fateful day on August 9, 2004, I observed my new
surroundings and was pleased with my new home but my heart was still teeming with
sadness. It took me a year and a half to finally realize that if I continue to have the same
mindset I would remain depressed. Even the whole transition into high school was
impacted by the move because I was the furthest thing from prepared. I entered a world
of little grade school clicks, which I was envious of because I missed out on mine.
7. Mazur 7
Attending a school strictly for young men, I was a bit skeptical because I wasn’t sure how
I would go about making friends with girls.
This whole ordeal challenged my faith and religious life in addition to making me
really believe in that things happen for a reason. It took me a while to figure out why
God brought me to the city of Phoenix, but like the bird I was given a new life, a clean
slate to redefine who I was as a person. I was mentally and physically toughened up,
which allowed me to handle various other issues that came my way. I was able to
establish a new name for myself and once I got my life back on track, I was finally
capable of letting the lessons taught at Brophy really sink in. I have since let much of my
past go and make Phoenix my new home. There is a purpose for me being here and I
believe that I must live out God’s plan for me here before I venture out of state for the
next adventure God has in store for me.
To fully understand a culture, one must fully immerse his or herself in the
language, the people, and the traditions. Having previously ventured to the country of
my parents’ birth a total of three times, I feel like I have attained a great understanding of
being Polish and after my most recent visit there last summer making my trip to Europe a
fourth time. This trip was a lot different and it was neither limited to just visiting family
the whole time nor going to the same farm in Kolonia Mojsławice, but meeting a whole
other side of my family that I never really knew existed. To make this story clearer, I
need to provide a little bit of background information on my family. My mother lost my
father to a car accident and was left with two, six-month-old infants to take care of with
no one to support her; losing the support of her friends as well as my father’s friends
made it that much more difficult. My stepfather I consider my real father because he
8. Mazur 8
raised me and I never got to know my biological father. I had previously stayed with my
stepfather’s side of the family each time I had ventured “across the pond,” as the British
like to call it. This time I was to meet many my biological father’s side of the family who
lived on the northwestern side of Poland. Due to some ill relations my mother had with
my Aunt Irena after my father’s passing, my mom lost touch with her ex-husbands family
in Poland.
This was the third time Andrew and I had flown to Europe alone without the
company of our parents that we had our first time so flying was nothing new. We flew
from Phoenix to New York, and then to Dusseldorf, Germany we finally made our third
connecting flight to Berlin, Germany. The reason why we landed in Berlin was to spend
several days there before driving two and a half hours to my uncle’s house in Legnica,
Poland. Germany and the Czech Republic were two countries my cousin was going to
take us to during the month and week we were there. It was refreshing to get off a plane
and venture through the beautiful streets of Berlin with my cousin Lukasz, his girlfriend
Asia and of course my brother. It was quite the change of scenery and I didn’t know the
language for once so I truly was and felt like a foreigner. We spent several days just
traveling all around the city, sucking in the German culture like dry sponges, taking
pictures of monuments and visiting various historical landmarks, buildings and museums.
As our time in Germany drew to a close we made the trip across the border into Poland
and my brother and I were a bit nervous to meet my uncle. I was three months away
from my eighteenth birthday and I had yet a whole other family to meet. When we
arrived, Andrew and I were greeted with loving and open arms. After exchanging our
stories of our trip so far and life back home, we got settled in and I felt just as
9. Mazur 9
comfortable there as I did in my own home. My biological father had two brothers and
two sisters and my uncle Mirek, my uncle whom we stayed with most of the trip, was his
closest brother. During my stay there he treated my brother and I like we were his very
own kids.
This seems like an uncomfortable thing to say when writing for a class but the
first day my uncle sat us down and asked us to drink with him on the back patio as we
grilled some meat. We took him up on his offer, as is something Polish men do while
grilling and socializing, for his son Lukasz didn’t drink and his other, Dawid was off
working in Ireland so he finally had two candidates to drink with which brought a huge
smile to his face. It was almost a rite of passage for us because the drinking age was
eighteen and my uncle considered it close enough. While we waited for the meat to be
ready, he apologized to us for his sister’s behavior, which caused the family to split the
way it did, and that he feels remorseful for how he felt he lacked as an uncle in our lives.
My uncle had wanted to meet us so badly that it was he who bought the two plane tickets
for our voyage. It was at this very moment something inside me felt like a whole chapter
of my life was being rediscovered and I tried my hardest not to let a tear roll down my
cheek for I was participating in something meant for adults. I felt anger towards my aunt
build up because I had missed out on such a great family for my whole entire life up to
that point.
Days passed and the next place we were going to visit was Nowogard, Poland is
where my grandmother lives and it was the same apartment my uncle and his family first
lived in before moving to Legnica. During this trip we picked up my cousin Dawid on
our way in Berlin because he had flown from Ireland on his vacation time. Meeting my
10. Mazur 10
grandma for the first time was another emotional moment for me because for her age she
had so much life in her and I could feel her love for me the moment I walked in through
the door. She told me she had waited all her life to meet me and was sure she would pass
away before she got the chance. She had shown me pictures of me as a child that she
held while she always prayed for my brother and me. Due to Nowogard’s sixty-
kilometer close proximity to the Baltic Sea, we drove to the beach three times while we
were visiting with my grandma. My other uncle Tadek and his family along with my
aunt Zdzisława and her family lived in the same city so we also got to meet them as well.
My aunt Zdzisława and her husband came to meet us the first day we were at my
grandma’s apartment. With new family members I met, I felt like I was learning the
story of my father’s life even if my conversations with them were not pertaining to him at
all. We had dinner at her house the following evening and she told us much about my
father as a boy. The next evening was dinner at my uncle’s house and he was the eldest
of my father’s siblings. His daughter Aneta was already married with one child and they
all lived together in one small farmhouse. My uncle Tadek was the only one of my
father’s siblings that ever visited or stayed in America. He told me the many stories he
had while living with my mom when we were infants in our house in Burlington New
Jersey. He also had so many family videos from when he was in America that even
featured my father in some of them. My father loved taking pictures and videos so he
was always the man behind the camera. Since I was so tiny I had no recollection of these
memories and I was reliving the past. I also heard my father’s voice for the very first
time on video, which instilled in me a strange feeling very difficult to describe. It was at
that moment I had an epiphany. That was the closest I had ever felt with my father and I
11. Mazur 11
wasn’t sad that I missed out on his presence in my life because I was completely teeming
with everything my father was. I was surrounded by those who grew up with him and
saw the house he grew up in which was right down the road.
After leaving Nowogard, we went back to Legnica and spent several days there
before we made the four-hour drive to Prague, Czech Republic. The city was the most
beautiful thing I had ever seen atop castle Prague. All the roofs of the building were a
reddish orange color and there was a small river dividing the old and modern part of the
city. We only took a day trip there so we returned really late. With our time remaining
in Poland, we returned to Nowogard one last time after dropping off Dawid at the airport
to Berlin. During the trip we spent time visiting bigger cities in Poland within several
hours of Legnica in addition with two large castles. We even made the eight-hour drive
across Poland to Kolonia Mojsławice to stay with my stepfather’s side of the family for a
weekend. Leaving Europe this time was one of the hardest things because of how close I
felt with all my family there. My brother and I felt as if we had a new way of life now
and the thought of going to America seemed foreign which was pretty ironic. I did miss
being at home as well so after two days of flying and traveling we were safely back in
Phoenix with countless stories and experiences. I almost feel as if this paper had not
done this experience enough justice because there was so much that I learned and saw.
At seventeen years of age I felt as if I experienced a large chunk of the world so
far. I drove across two countries and had fully submersed myself in two very different
cultures while still proudly sporting my Polish heritage. I would never trade any of my
experiences for the world. I think back to the time I was forced to move across the U.S.
and it took me three years to finally realize the true meaning of everything happens for a
12. Mazur 12
reason. I was meant to see, hear, and experience all that I did thus far in my life. I had
gained a greater understanding of the world and its vastness. Being back in the U.S., I
have still kept in touch with my “long lost family” in Poland and am very happy I made
that trip or else I would never have connected with my father the way I did because I
myself am he. Ultimately these experiences have taught me so much about the
complexities of life itself and that there is so much to gain from the world around us,
even if we may not understand the meanings at first.
In light of chapter two to my synthesis paper I leave you with a quote from Ralph
Waldo Emerson, “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”
From my previous stories thus far, I believe Emerson puts it best when simply trying to
explain that you can’t read a book to well educate yourself about life, you must live it, be
immersed in it and have your soul teeming with it.
When writing and reflecting on past memories in my life, it is essential to take a
look at things through different glasses so to speak. I believe that analyzing the various
themes that tend to reoccur in my life through my faith tradition is essential to answering
the various questions I’ve had through life. It is also important to keep in mind the
importance of humility. My faith tradition since as far back as I remember is a Catholic
one and I wouldn’t have it any other way to tell you the truth. I may enjoy being a proud
Christian and agree with most of their views and teachings, but that doesn’t mean I don’t
have any issues or criticism. When dealing with issues of faith and uncertainty in any
area of your life, it is good to know and understand your faith tradition’s views on the
matter. It is always good to feel like your not alone in the matter and that others from
your own faith background have had similar experiences. Sometimes digging deep into
13. Mazur 13
our faith background can really help us get a better understanding and help us cope with
the difficulties and suffering we may experience in our lives.
One of the first and most difficult questions that plagued me my freshman year at
Brophy was where do I find God amidst difficult transition and change? This question
stemmed off of the uncertainty and loss of faith in the commonly used phrase “everything
happens for a reason.” I used to believe in this phrase because most of the people I was
either close to or respected would believe in it. Once I was faced to accept the permanent
change and transition into a new chapter in my life, it distorted many of my views on life.
My world went topsy-turvy and my beliefs all I could dwell on was simply, “God, why
am I moving from the place I have called my home for fourteen years and what was my
purpose in this strange and foreign desert?” The worst part about difficult situations is
that praying, which most Catholics tend to do during difficult times, didn’t give me the
answers I was searching for. It was almost as if my prayers were as good as talking to the
wall. It took at least two to three years for me to finally find my purpose, niche, and
reasons for moving there. In all actuality, attending mass weekly and praying seemed to
have no affect on how hurt and deeply saddened I was inside. I received no
encouragement from the two very people who raised me as a Christian because they
loved Arizona and just thought I was being childish about the whole situation and just
needed to get used to it. My own twin brother seemed to handle it pretty well and maybe
that was because my roots were dug in a lot deeper in the my native Pennsylvanian soil. I
felt so very alone and neglected by the all loving and caring God I hear about every
Sunday at mass. Too bad I never heard the words of Genesis 12, which “records the call
of Abraham and his willingness, even at the age of 75, to leave his home in Haran to
14. Mazur 14
journey into the unknown” (Reid 30). The unsuccessful at mass further encouraged me
to distance my relationship with God but in the end God did give me an answer, just not
as quickly as I hoped He would. My mistake was that I did not consult my faith tradition
to see how other Catholics composed themselves in similar situations as mine. Even
though I was young, if I were to have done so when I was in need of comfort, maybe the
slow and painful healing process would have been shortened.
Finding God in the world some say is an easy task. Just look all around you and
see the beauty that He has created. Some tend to point out that God is present in the kind,
humble, and selfless acts of others. As a catholic, I know that God is ever present in the
Eucharist, the Liturgy of the Word, and in the Gospels. God is everywhere! Finding God
in the midst of our lives, especially in our daily routines is nothing new but it is a very
difficult concept to grasp that God is with us through messy and tough situations. God is
even present in all the change and shifting patterns that occur in our lives, whether it’s
switching schools or moving to a new location, God is right there ready to take the ride
with you. When there is so much hurt and suffering in this world, some of us tend to
think God neglects certain people or parts of the world but that is the furthest thing from
the truth. “Just or unjust, we will all be crucified. God’s mercy falls on the just and
unjust alike, and so does suffering” (Garvey 7).
Some of us have a difficulty when asking for help, even if we are in dire need of
it. “Conditioned by our ‘can-do’ culture, which applauds self-sufficiency and
independence, we are reluctant to admit our need for the assistance of others when it
comes to developing something as personal as our own spirituality” (Dunlap 20). With
the society’s pressures clawing at our backs, many Catholics turn to God and the Church
15. Mazur 15
for strength and support. Prayer can be one of the most helpful factors that allow us to
successfully navigate the various paths we take in life. A simple prayer of petition or
your own brief conversation with God can be exactly what we need to cope with stress or
just allow us a little escape from the quick-paced tempo of today’s society, a sort of
spiritual Tylenol if you will.
For some Catholics like myself for example, prayer can sometimes not be enough
to offer reassurance and stability, which is why the Bible and Scripture may become
essential when meditating. If you think you’re completely alone in a situation, you may
be surprised to find some iconic figures in the New and Old Testament may share similar
struggles within the numerous stories contained in Scripture. For example, we can read
great stories such as that of Moses, who once was shepherding the flocks for his father-
in-law, when God called him to make a radical change in life, from shepherding to
becoming a shepherd to lead God’s chosen people to the Promised Land, talk about
changing one’s profession. "But suppose they will not believe me, nor listen to my
plea?" Moses objects to God's plan. "If you please, Lord, send someone else!" (Exodus
4:1,13). Even Moses is faced with difficult change that he neither asked for nor
anticipated. Another very powerful example of this is exemplified in the conversion of
Saul. On the way to Damascus, God struck down Saul and said, "Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom
you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
(Acts 9: 4-7). From then on, Saul turned his life around and became one of the twelve
disciples. "These are two of the many interesting stories found in Scripture and they can
16. Mazur 16
all offer very valuable insights, which provide a more practical direction than simply
praying to God.
Many Catholics also turn to each other for aid and inspiration. Whether it is
sharing ways to cope with difficult change and transition or offering each other insight
into their own lives so that one may find inspiration in the other, all are very positive and
influential ways to offer someone a more prayerful perspective. Sometimes it may be
best to consult an adult’s perspective because many have already gone through common
and deep personal transition. Even with other perspectives this may still not be enough to
settle the most broken hearted and for them, the only solution left is trust. You must be
able to put all your hope, faith and trust in God sometimes no matter how dire the
situation. Knowing that God’s presence is with us always, we should learn to trust in His
will because He has a plan for everything. Jesus was once faced with the terrible silence
in Gethsemane. He could have slipped away and avoided death but no, “Jesus finds no
discernable response; all he could do is rely on his previous experiences of God’s faithful
love. Not knowing how God will bring the divine will for life and love to fullness
through his brutal execution, Jesus chooses to remain in trust” (Reid 38). Just as Jesus’
example for us, even when death looks us in the face we must have trust and hope in our
God.
In addition to my last theme of transition and change, I find that when dealing
with these difficulties, one must make the best of the opportunity in order to bring ones
self-closure. When I was in sixth grade, I always wondered what is the importance of
diversity and being open to growth and new experiences? Why experience new things
when in my old mindset it meant being away from the only things you knew and loved.
17. Mazur 17
Why feel uneasy, uncomfortable and be forced to making new experiences? Of course
years later looking at this argument I could easily answer the questions I posed then, but
this is now. “Change can elicit a wide range of emotions—excitement, sadness, fear and
a number of others” (Hines-Brigger 54). I thought I was doing just fine in Morrisville,
Pennsylvania and did not need to leave my town, for I was content with my life. “When
all is well, there is little reason to want a change. When our world is shattered, however,
we hearken to those who can help us find a way forward toward a new state of well-
being” (Reid 39). I was told that during the summer, my brother and I would spend a
good duration of it away from home and friends and instead live on a farm in a small
village in Poland. My only source of comfort at this point was knowing that my twin
brother would be there right along side me. I’m going to be honest, I was disappointed at
first because I knew not what to expect and to a young me, venturing off to a new country
was like taking a rocket ship to the moon. To me I figured it was just a scheme to force
me to practice my polish. As a kid, the last way you want to spend your summer vacation
was away from friends or doing manual labor and I knew that I would be doing both. I
never thought I would find myself, especially as a child, to be unenthusiastic about
summer vacation, but as most people say, “there is a first time for everything.” Looking
back on the experience, I should have approached it like most Catholics do today, which
is to have faith in ourselves, in God, and to believe in what we don’t fully know or
understand, such as concepts like the Holy Tritium. “God’s [transcendence] remains
always beyond the ability of our minds to grasp or comprehend” (Rahner 108) If I did not
focus on all the negative aspects of the situation, I would have been able to take more
from the experience right from the beginning, instead of moping around the polish
18. Mazur 18
countryside. “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29).
God will reward those who believe in what we can’t see, just how like I would have been
rewarded with immediate satisfaction instead of despair.
I now understand the importance of being unique and diverse based upon your
own inimitable experiences. If we are not open to growth and change, we will never be
able to leave the bubble of comfort we tend to create around us, a so-called comfort zone
if you will. Thinking about it realistically, if God created such a large bountiful world
with so many beautiful creations and places, why not try and experience as much of the
world as possible with the duration of one’s life on earth? One simple example from
nature is how it is imperative that baby birds find it in themselves to learn how to fly and
experience the world outside of their nest. They are nurtured and cared for by their
mother for a period of time but without pushing past that point, they would never be able
to survive on their own. In a way, the same concept can be applied to the world of
human beings when faced with many paths that take us on this journey called life.
Once again, I did not turn to God or the Church to answer this question for me. I
attended church with my family each Sunday there, but mass was no aid in bringing me
any relief, nor was my family. The every other day phone call with my parents did
nothing ease my discomfort, besides cause me to miss the very two people whose voices
echoed from the tiny holes in the receiver. When asked how my brother Andrew and I
were doing, I would reply fine and my parents would try and explain how we would learn
to love it, a typical phrase out of the parent manual. Sure I ended up becoming
habituated to life on the farm, but there were days were I was extremely sad and
homesick. On such occasions I would turn to my brother for comfort and ask him if he
19. Mazur 19
felt the same way so I could find some consolation. I wished so bad that I could live two
lives and be able, in some way, commute back and forth between the two. I missed even
the littlest of things from being away from home and for the first time, I was away from
home, not to mention out of the country, for the longest period of time in my life up to
that point. “Life did go on. The days and nights didn’t wait for me to make sense of it.
The sun kept coming up in the morning and the curtain of night fell regularly at evening”
(Gardiner 40). During my time there, I made several friends there and we all shared the
same passion, soccer. Being from a different country, sometimes Andrew and I felt as if
we were foreigners because some individuals didn’t take kindly to Americans due to
several stereotypes. This didn’t come to me as a surprise but ultimately our differences
made us unique among the village boys. They would love to ask us about America and
we would gladly satisfy their barrage of questions. As the days went on, my anxiety
surprisingly seemed to dissipate the more and more I fully opened myself to the
experience. It was so unique that not one single friend I knew from back home could
even begin to relate to. That trip to Poland, in my parents’ opinion, was the culmination
of all their teachings, a good way to experience a different way of life, a chance to get to
know my stepfather’s side of the family and a great way to practice my polish and be
completely submersed in my heritage. Even though my brother and I were born in
America, by the end of my trip, I felt as if I were born there. Before I left the farm and
waved goodbye to my family, who I probably would not see for at least a year or another
summer vacation, I could feel tears building up in my tear ducts, making it one of those
dreaded “I told you so” moments because both my parents knew that it would truly be a
formidable experience. After quite the vacation, I would always recommend taking a trip
20. Mazur 20
out of the country to any of my friends, so that they may see what the world has to offer,
whether it is a vacation or immersion trip offered by Brophy. “Let’s challenge ourselves
to invest in creating those pivotal experiences that help mobilize young adults –
experiences that help them move from being simply justice converts to becoming lifelong
disciples” (Graham 44). This quote explains how one inimitable experience can change a
normal person into a true believer; ask anyone who has spent an exuberant amount of
time in another country.
The whole experience benefited me more than I could ever imagine but my
emotions blinded me from the good that was always there. Emotions, as I have found,
tend to be the reasons for why one feels a lot more negatively about a situation, especially
if they tend to be pessimistic about change and transition in life. If I would have had the
same understanding of the importance of being open to growth and new experiences as I
do now, thanks to what my Brophy education has instilled in me thus far, I too would
have been a lot better off. Letting emotions such as fear get in the way prevents and
stunts growth in faith. “[Christ brought me into an unbreakable unity with God himself,]
so that [I] can fearlessly offer [myself] as the fruit of faith in order to create more life for
other, yet at the same time [I myself] will grow into a fuller life of true wealth”
(Gadegaard 529).
Throughout life, we gather various common phrases, which we use to explain
life’s complexities. I have always heard the phrase “blood is thicker than water,” which
is used to explain how your family will always be there in life and should be most
importance because friends come and go, but how would this apply to a family that I
never really had a chance to know? How can my father’s siblings constitute as family if
21. Mazur 21
they pretty much missed out on most of my whole life? It is as if I had been deserted by
them and through God’s grace, provided me with a loving substitute family, and new
father. This substitute family became the only one I’ve ever known and all of a sudden,
at almost eighteen years of age, my old family wants to play a significant role in my life?
To really begin to tackle all these things at once, I had to explore this very question, what
is the importance of a strong family life?
At this point, it seemed senseless because I already had a family who loved and
care for me, but I was never fully satisfied without knowing what my life could have
been like if one tragic event never left a mother of two, six month old infant twin boys, a
widow. I immediately dismissed these negative thoughts because my family never
deserted me at all; ill relations between my mother and one of my aunts, which my
brother and I were unaware of in our blissful youth, caused the schism and the Atlantic
Ocean only made bridging the gap more difficult. I couldn’t hold my uncle’s and aunts
responsible because of one aunt, who resides in the U.S., which did her best to prevent
contact between families.
To this very day I still tend to revisit the question about my father every so often.
From what I know, my biological father, Victor Mazur was one hell of a guy and by not
getting to know the people who contributed in making my father the man he was would
be an insult to his memory. Sometimes my brother and I felt by being separated from my
father’s family, there were pieces of ourselves missing and God had them waiting in store
for us in the country of our parents’ origin.
I have always had the utmost respect and veneration for my family, especially
coming from a close, traditional, polish family. Living in the United States, I was still
22. Mazur 22
raised with Polish and European values reinforced with a strong Catholic based
background. Despite my upbringing, I was almost completely ignorant to a whole new
family that I barely even knew. Since my father’s passing, when I was only six months
old, I have always considered my stepfather my real father because he raised my brother
and I from birth and was the true father figure in our lives. I have always accepted his
family, the one I always visited when I went to Poland, to be my own even though there
was no blood relation, but the love was always present. In a way, I guess you could say
my situation does contradict that very phrase about blood being thicker than water, but in
my opinion they are still part of my family.
Last summer, my brother and I had the opportunity to meet my biological father’s
side of the family and live with one of my uncle’s for a month and two weeks. Not only
would I get to meet my uncle and his family for the first time, I was going to spend
sometime traveling around Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany. This seemed too
good of a trip to be true but the idea of meeting my biological father’s siblings and their
families, including his mother made me feel very uneasy and nervous. These people had
almost no impact in my life up to this point and I was almost an adult! Would they be
accepting of Andrew and I? Are they anything at all like the family I’ve known all my
life? Many questions kept coming up during the times of uncertainty and as usual, God
did not just strike me with the answers, He of course, as He has tended to do for most of
my life let me figure it out on my own. All I knew about my father was from what my
mother and mother’s side of the family talked and reminisced about. This trip was
essentially getting to know my father by meeting the very people who watched him grow
up and to bridge an old gap among family members. “When egalitarian relationships
23. Mazur 23
exist also in our faith communities, both our family of faith and our family of origin
become havens of peace and thankfulness” (Reid 38). Looking back on that experience, I
truly believe God wanted us to wait until my brother and I were of a mature age to really
benefit and learn a whole lot from our time there. Not only was our maturity key into
understanding family issues, but also it allowed us to appreciate and really get to know
what kind of a man my father was. It could have also have been God answering my
grandmother’s prayers of being able to one day meet her American grandchildren before
she died, who knows? Nonetheless, I left Europe that summer with the warm feeling of
almost being at peace and I know my father must have been smiling down from heaven.
In the Catholic faith, the family has always been extremely important. This is
maybe why the Church itself is considered as one body, or rather a family. As a Catholic,
there are many expectations for a family, its role, and mission. In the modern world of
today, the family has been threatened by many rapid changes that affect both society and
culture. “Hence the family has the mission to guard, reveal and communicate love, and
this is a living reflection of and a real sharing in God's love for humanity and the love of
Christ the Lord for the Church His bride” (FG 17). A very powerful, clear and concise
example of the family structure can be taken from the precedent left by the Holy family.
Pope John Paul II cited the Holy Family as an example of the day-to-day struggles and
pleasures of family life, specifically one modeled in the Catholic faith.
Through God's mysterious design, it was in that family that the Son of God spent
long years of a hidden life. It is therefore the prototype and example for all
Christian families. It was unique in the world. Its life was passed in anonymity
and silence in a little town in Palestine. It underwent trials of poverty, persecution
24. Mazur 24
and exile. It glorified God in an incomparably exalted and pure way. And it will
not fail to help Christian families-indeed, all the families in the world-to be
faithful to their day-to-- day duties, to bear the cares and tribulations of life, to be
open and generous to the needs of others, and to fulfill with joy the plan of God in
their regard (Hines-Brigger 55)
Even though the Holy Family fits the image of a Catholic family structure, many can
argue that today’s society asks more from us than the society of ancient Jerusalem so it is
difficult to achieve such a structure. Since ancient times, the role and make-up of
families have rapidly shifted over thousands of years but the “idea of the family as the
domestic church has not been lost. Parishes, catechetical leaders and families need to
collaborate to support Christian families impacted by the shift” (Fournier 64). All hope
is not lost because building a stronger sense of family does not mean being exactly like
Jesus, Joseph and Mary. Suggestions on how to build this sacredness in family life
include” studying Papal documents for the family, praying to become aware of God's
presence in everyday family events, and developing a family spirituality that fits into the
ebb and flow of daily living” (McCord 8). Another reason to not be discouraged is that
the Holy Family was not favored by God nor is any other family for that matter.
“Fretheim argues vigorously against the notion that story of Abraham should be
understood as God choosing to interact with only one person and family” (Peterson 333).
If like in the story of Abraham God did not choose to just interact with a great prophet
like Abraham and his family, neither does God single out rich and powerful families of
today. We are all entitled to the same blessing of care and love from our God no matter
the size of family. Society typically recognizes family as “the nuclear mom-dad-and-kids
25. Mazur 25
structure, but [Catholics] make it clear that their families can and do transcend those
boundaries” (Grennan 20). Regardless of your family lifestyle, God loves us all the same
because we are all made to be in his image and likeness, and to rule over all he has
blessed us with.
After having gone through and soaking in the valuable information from my faith
background, it is time to collect my beliefs and tenets into a selection of faith statements.
The following statements I make here in my next chapter reflect my most intimate,
personal and deep thoughts I have made throughout my transformation.
What do I believe about myself?
Challenged by one of the most self-reflective questions one could ask oneself, I
am left with an ambivalent answer. Since I am only limited to the past eighteen years
I’ve spent on this world, I lack many years of wisdom and experience, yet on the other
hand I have lived through many fundamental and unique experiences. At such a pivotal
point in my life, I feel like the answer to this question may change as it rapidly has
through the years of transition and change. I believe I have the tools and talents to
become a man in the church that lives by his faith tradition, that keeps trying to better
himself as a man, and continues to grow spiritually with God. I believe that I have been
made into the image and likeness of God; therefore I am special and have a purpose on
this earth. God does not create evil, therefore I am good as well as the rest of his
creation. I have yet to discover my full purpose on His earth, but I know I am loved and
cared for by him, my friends and family. I believe that God blessed me with a loving
family who sees more in myself than I ever could. I believe I am a person full of flaws
that falls into sin often like most others but I seek God’s forgiveness for my
26. Mazur 26
transgressions. I feel as if I have my own version of what being Christian is all about
without having to fit the stereotypical role of a goody-goody boy to be holy. I believe
that with all God has blessed me with, along with the knowledge I have acquired thus far,
I will become a true man for others who will someday leave his mark here on earth by my
actions.
With the hardships and struggles that I’ve had along with all the uncertainty
and questioning, I have become aware of God’s presence in my life. I now know that
God is there with me through it all even when it seems his presence can’t be felt. I
believe I am well equipped to handle the challenges I will face soon within a years time.
As I open up a new chapter in my life I feel that my belief in myself has matured more
than I could have conceived. I realize that even with all my flaws, insecurities, my failed
attempts at all my endeavors, and poor decision-making does not have to define me as a
person even though all those things are real and a part of me. I know that as all humans, I
will continue to mess up and sin but through the years I’ve learned to cope with my
mistakes because I try to keep myself from repeating the same ones. I continue to
analyze myself and know that with time and new experiences, my personal beliefs will
change with the wisdom and knowledge that I will gain.
I believe that I am a very fortunate and blessed kid to be born where I was, to be
accepted and welcomed into a loving and caring family, and apart of a the Church. I am
different than many people I know and I have only God to thank for giving me all that
makes me, including my talents and abilities. I have all of those things behind me in my
journey of life and I take that for granted a lot of the time. I believe that someday in the
27. Mazur 27
future I will be able to take full advantage of the certain things I have going for me and
not let my uniqueness go unnoticed or unappreciated.
What do I believe about God?
Even as a Catholic, the answer to this question for me is still not easy no matter
how simple the question is. I usually side with my faith when posed with many questions
referring to a higher power but I too like many Christians question my faith heavily when
it comes to personal beliefs. I have been taught that God exists everywhere, as three
persons in the Holy Trinity, which is responsible for all of creation that the eye can see,
and that He is the Almighty ruler of the universe who reigns down on the earth from
Heaven above. These are all very common concepts and beliefs, which I honor but for
me, God is personal. I know my relationship with him is unique and unlike any other
because He is the only one who knows exactly what I’ve been through and felt. To me I
believe very much in my God yet at times I still struggle to understand Him.
It would be a lie to say that I don’t question many things about my God. I may
be a firm catholic, but I find it impossible to accept everything my faith tradition says at
times. All those times where I believed God never heard my prayers or was listening I
wondered where He was or if there even was one at all. I know it’s almost sacrilegious to
make such a statement but I am not alone in doing so. As I wrote earlier, it is extremely
difficult to find God in our toughest predicaments and that being the case, it makes sense
that our distance with him may seem too far for comfort. Christians are taught God is all
loving and all caring and when one isn’t receiving that, questions are sure to be forming
in their minds. I have done this less frequently as I mature in my spiritual relationship
with Him. I have noticed that God is not one to act with haste or even act at all. He
28. Mazur 28
works mysteriously and likes to let things play out for a while. To be more specific, God
uses many people and situations as help and guidance. He does not work in hands on
methods; rather He plays the role of a spectator who has ultimate authority and influence
over all. He seems to make us work for our own answers as if to keep us on our guard at
all times.
I know God will always be there for me even if His authority and influence in my
life may seem passive at times. When asking for His intervention in my challenging
situations, I cannot expect Him to do all the work for me. I know I must make things
happen in my life but I will always remember He is right there with me, smiling down
upon me from heaven above, watching out for me and loving me like the rest of all His
beautiful creation. I believe that whenever I pray to God, He will always listen to me and
make sure to answer my prayers in some way, big or small. When I prayed in Poland
about wanting to be home, God let me realize on my own that going there was a positive
and needed experience for me. Getting accustomed to a new way of life is never easy,
but knowing that the trip was only transient gave me hope. In the end, it was God who
truly helped me to adapt to my new environment and become more open to growth. With
powerful images of God as the Good Shepherd making sure all His sheep are there, even
leaving the flock to find a stray one over all others shows me how much love He has for
me as a person. I hope as I grow in my faith life I will continue to have such a positive
outlook and be able to find God in all my difficult situations.
What do I believe about myself in relationship with God and others?
Like most Catholics, when turning to relationship questions with God and others,
I turn to Jesus’ most important commandment, “you shall love the Lord your God with all
29. Mazur 29
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
"The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:28-31). Such an
outlook on life has made me begin to adopt a more optimistic view when exploring my
beliefs in my relationships. I know that we are all made in the image and likeness of God
so everyone in this world is good, despite all the evils found in some individuals. I
realize that in life others will sin against me and I will of course reciprocate. People are
not perfect so you can’t expect relationships to be perfect either. Relationships between
loved ones, friends, family and people will grow and some will of course be broken. The
only one who will never sin or cause any relationship troubles of course is God because
He is perfect. He will never betray us, abandon us, or steer us in the wrong direction for
He is not subjective to the flaws of mankind. However unlike others, God is always
willing to forgive and work to fix the broken bonds in our relationship with Him, whether
or not we are willing to. This is why as a Catholic, I am called to follow such an
example. When posed with the question how many times one must forgive their
neighbor, Jesus replies, ”I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times” (Matt.
18:22). The point Jesus is trying to make is what makes up my personal belief with my
relationships, I will honor, respect, love and forgive others as I would want done to me.
In respects to my relationship with God, all I can really do is just try to live a better life
and try to avoid hurting my relationship with Him by avoiding sin.
In life some of the most important relationships ever experienced are those among
family members. You don’t get to choose your family and whether or not you like it,
they are a part of you biologically and you have no choice but to stick with them. The
family however has a role to play in the Catholic Church and it should be honored and
30. Mazur 30
respected. Not everyone out there is lucky enough to experience the love and care of a
concrete family system and others are blessed with an abundance of that same thing. I
am one of those lucky people because not only do I have one family that I know of but a
second in Poland who I continue to get to know and grow with.
Are there other elements of my faith worth exploring or discussing in this
project?
My faith will always continue to grow as long as I continue to live a life according to
the teachings of the Church and God. I will continue to ask questions and think of new
ones as I mature and grow spiritually and mentally. If I am ever satisfied completely
with my faith I believe that is not being a true Christian. There are supposed to be things
I can’t understand because that is the true meaning of having faith, to believe in things
not necessarily tangible or simple. The whole challenge of having faith is to be able to
say I believe and not back down. Faith is a life-long process in my opinion and in my
case, it has radically developed just in my years at Brophy. Not trying to undermine my
other years of Catholic schooling but I feel that I have changed so much in those years as
I entered adulthood. I don’t believe that I am the best or most pious catholic I know, but
I am satisfied where I am spiritually and religiously. I know that despite the amount of
sins I have accumulated over the years, I am still a good person and just as worthy of life
as any celebrity or famous individual. I feel that if I live my life as best I can according
to my morals and the commandments and standards set forth by God, I will earn the
coveted chance of eternal life that we are all entitled to.
There are some elements of my faith that I don’t understand or completely agree with
and most have to deal with the Catholic Church itself. I know that through history the
31. Mazur 31
Catholic Church has not always been as holy as the message it teaches. The Catholic
Church has been wrong many times and has even put people to death for defying their
teachings. I know that the Catholic Church is supposed to be a body of believers but
sometimes I seem to forget that they’re people too. People who make poor choices from
time to time so how can I look to a group of people to interpret God’s divine message? I
feel like I am comfortable with making mistakes because I know God will forgive them,
but not comfortable with how others from my faith tradition would take that. I
sometimes loose faith in some of the clergy with all the hypocritical preachers and priests
out there that don’t practice the message they preach. The older I seem to get, the more
evil in this world becomes more evident. I am confident that in the next few years God
helps me yield a better understanding to some of these faith elements.
Many my beliefs have been strengthened as a result of my attention to experience.
When analyzing my life and situations I have been in, it is good to reflect on them now so
that my past emotions cannot cloud my judgment or thinking. With a better
understanding of life and a more mature spirituality, I know that I have gained so much in
my education that helps strengthen my personal and religious beliefs. I see the good now
in past situations from my experiences that I could not even begin to understand when
struggling.
As I have stated many times in this paper, going through much change and transition,
being open to growth and new experience, one broadens their perspectives and views of
life as a result. You must force yourself out of your comfort zone and experience
something new, fresh and exciting in order to gain a broader perspective. It is a challenge
to do so and for some, new perspectives can be scary or even extremely moving. Moving
32. Mazur 32
to Arizona was for a while a very negative impact on my life, but it is crazy to even think
about how much broader my perspective on life has changed since. I no longer fear or
hate change as much as I used to because I realize a lot more will change in life and you
must make the best of it in order to gain the positives and expand your horizons.
With experiences come many challenges to prior knowledge and understanding.
Such information can even be skewed and distorted to not even make any sense at times.
Powerful and moving experiences can instill in us more than any knowledge gained from
reading. Some experiences can lead to negative ways of thinking like my move across
the country. All I could do was question my faith and get angry with God. Letting time
pass and learning from new experiences, my faith undergoes constant questioning and
challenging. I went from believing that “everything happens for a reason,” to giving up
on that completely to coming back to the same conclusion that “things do happen for a
reason.” Adopting a new way of thinking doesn’t mean it’s fixed and set in stone,
information and ideas are always floating around and constantly being changed.
Exercises like writing this synthesis paper allow me not only to formulate my own
thoughts and opinions, but also allow me to take the time to examine other opinions and
take something from them in order to constantly build upon my own. In a sense this
process is applicable and similar to the one in my faith life.
When determining how the quality of my life has changed since I have begun to
reflect and articulate about my faith life and myself, I have noticed that it has made me a
different person. Sure I’m not perfect nor am I worth more in the eyes of God since I
have gone through change, but I not only feel better as a person, but I feel a sense of
comfort and self-worth. By self-reflecting, it has taught me to expand my mind and
33. Mazur 33
spirituality. I not only now live from day to day, but I take time each day to really think
about my actions and thoughts of the previous day. Without proper time to think about
things, one may easily make an irrational decision. With that given fact, self-reflection
gives us time to think about our actions and assess their meaning and structure. The
ability to self analyze one’s actions shows a sense of maturity, self-control, and a sense of
higher thought. As humans, we have the ability to think and reason. That is what sets us
apart from all of God’s creation so why not utilize this ability to its fullest potential?
Through most of my life, the ability to take time out and stop life in order to think
about the days events since my last reflection wasn’t available to me because to me, I
acted and dealt with the consequences at a later time. I didn’t really think hard or even
contemplate my actions unless I was either being disciplined by my father and his
genuine leather belt or be made to pathetically kneel in the corner on a hard, wooden
floor with both my hands firmly raised in the air, for doing something wrong. Why only
contemplate about such things only when forced to deal with consequences you may not
have conceived of? It took several life changing experiences and a lot of growing up to
acquire the ability to reason and rule out what was truly right according to my morals and
my faith tradition and what was wrong. When I say, “what’s right from wrong,” I don’t
mean the basic good from the bad, but a much more evolved form of “I know what’s
right and what’s wrong in a situation and I know what I’m called to do, but am I bold
enough to do so? As a child, you don’t necessarily think about how hurtful a negative
comment to a classmate may be or how much our actions stress our parents along with all
the other complexities they experience in their adult life. It’s a possibility we’re ignorant
to the consequences or maybe it just takes years of maturing to understand such things.
34. Mazur 34
Such an understanding requires a sense of maturity and reverence, spiritually as well as
mentally. One needs to distinguish the needs of others before their own and has to have
the willingness to put others before themselves in order to really gain something from it.
The more time we take to stop and think things through, the more possible solutions and
scenarios we can play out and make decisions by. The guidance I received from my
parents and their upbringing, in conjunction with my strong, catholic based background,
the ability to have the self-control to examine myself came about.
In most situations sometimes we don’t have time to think things through as long
as we would like, so not always are our actions so perfect. In extreme situations we are
sometimes forced to make decisions in a matter of seconds. This is exactly why self-
reflection and examination of conscience is crucial, especially in building one’s
character. The more time you allow yourself to think about your actions, the better you
can assess yourself as a person. The more self-examination becomes a habit and a
process of thought, the better your reasoning abilities will become. The ability to reason
in this way is usually through one’s faith tradition as well. In my case, some of these
answers come from asking questions like, “What would Jesus do?” Or better yet, “How
am I being called by God to respond now?” This second question is heard daily at
Brophy, after the sixth period bell rings, so I’m fortunate that my school sets aside time
for me to reflect. Sadly most of this time at Brophy I’ve spent with my head down
usually resting from the days classes instead of actually using that time for reflection.
I’ve noticed though that since freshman year, that has changed for me this senior year. I
still sometimes have my head down during the Examen, but after each question is read on
the loud speaker, I quietly answer in my heart. I take the time to think about my actions
35. Mazur 35
and how many people I may have impacted daily by them. This helps me keep from not
just focusing on myself and living the way God wants me to. In doing so, this helps me
exercise on what being a good Christian is all about. By looking through the glass of my
faith tradition, I know what is expected of me as a Christian and what God calls me to do,
the hard part is sometimes having the courage to meet those expectations and answering
the call.
There is much difficulty when it comes to meeting the expectations and call of
God, which is in essence perfection. It is impossible for us to be flawless like Him, but
through much prayer and self-reflection we are lead more on a path to transformation
than just good action. It is nice to make good choices and by making them, we not only
feel good about ourselves, but we have the satisfaction in knowing we did the right thing.
The problem is that with most people, that streak of good choices and actions is not
always consistent. God calls us not to only act righteous from time to time, but to pursue
the goal of always trying to do your best to make such actions consistent. It is said that a
lot can be said about a person by their actions and that is because your actions are a good
judge of your character. By pursuing that goal, your actions speak of the person you will
become. If you continue to make moral decisions throughout life, your on the right track
and if you continue to do otherwise, you know that the person you become will not be
much different than the person you are now. It is not an easy challenge but God calls for
this slow, lengthy moral transformation. Doing the right thing is usually the harder
choice to make and the one that asks more from us. Based upon my experiences thus far,
I have learned so much about life and that by continuing to stay strong and working to
improve myself, I can become the man God wants me to be. In doing so, God will not
36. Mazur 36
leave my actions unrewarded. For some, doing the right thing can be rewarding enough
but for others like me, it is not sufficient. Our actions should not always result in a
reward because we’re not some trained animals, for us, it should really come down to
who we really want to become. Do we really want to continue to make poor choices and
live with the consequences? Or would we prefer answering the call to do more and
acting like someone we truly want to be like. I know that answering the call to do what is
right really defines me as a better person, someone that understands more than just the
obvious; someone who is willing to make a difference. God has blessed me with many
talents and skills to make these actions realistic and possible. Once again I am not left
abandoned because my loving God did not leave me in the dark, He on the other hand has
continuously been guiding me like the North Star, leading me on a path of righteousness.
No one knows what the future holds in store for us besides God and no matter
how much we long for an answer from God, we most likely won’t get it until the future
comes. At the critical age of eighteen, I know that God has so much left in store for me
in life, full of both difficult and exciting experiences. I may speak of the person I want to
become, but at this point, I still really don’t know who that is yet. It seems as if God calls
us to be something significant as well as society. How will my adult life and career
conflict with God’s vocation for me? What occupation will I be stuck with later on in
life? Maybe one that directly involves spending time with the poor or maybe the call to
Holy Orders. I am still way too young to know the answer, yet I can make some
assumptions so far. God has made me compassionate and I tend to have a weak spot for
others. I have always wanted to make a good living for the family I plan to have
someday so how do I combine both vocations I hope to fulfill? So far I have plans to use
37. Mazur 37
my skills, knowledge and talents to hopefully someday be a doctor so that I not only help
others while still being able to provide a better life for my family than I had. This is just
one of the many possible scenarios that could play out from here but all I know is that I
am not afraid. I have the never-ending and unconditional love and support from both
God and my family to assist me as I try to find my vocation in life and to keep being the
Christian I am called to be.
The implications of reflection and articulation of faith has really helped me
become the person I am today. Though my family and I are proud of my transformation
thus far, I know there is still much room for improvement. Being the twin that usually
finds himself in trouble, this transformation has been radical and beneficial. Just thinking
back to my childhood I see such an enormous change in my maturity and ability to
reason. With all my acquired knowledge and wisdom I have gained thus far, I know that
I am continuing on the right path to becoming the man I am called to be. That may seem
like a big role and granted it is one, but I know in my heart that I am ready to take on that
role because God left me well equipped for the mission. It was never really easy for me
to grasp but the older I get, the more I can see God working in my life, giving me clues
and hints with all my experiences, in hopes that I will make him proud with the decisions
and actions I make as a result. God does everything for me and is the reason why I’m
even here on this earth. He sent his only Son to die for my sins and hopefully I, David
Paul Mazur can at least do my best to keep my commitment to Him and fulfill my current
vocation as “a Man for Others.”
38. Mazur 38
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