Being a Catholic at a Secular College - Part One

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My last two years of high school were spent at a private, Catholic school. I was raised in public school my whole life until that point. It was a major shock for me at first, but that change from sophomore to junior year literally changed my life. I know what it is like to be surrounded by those who have the same beliefs as me, and also conversing with those who disagree with what I may believe. I was planning to go straight to a Catholic college, Benedictine College in Atchison, KS, but due to financial constraints, I chose Washburn University and I am immensely happy with my choice. I have the wholesome opportunity to share what I believe with others. Though my experience is rewarding, it is far from easy.


Towards the beginning of college, when some people heard the high school that I graduated from, they'd look at me differently. "Oh, that Catholic school." People would assume that I became offended by certain things that other people would do or say, and if I happened to be up late at the school, they'd ask me, "Isn't it a little late for you to be up?" I was very put off by these comments and I couldn't understand why people felt the need to say those things. I am a teenager, too. I do teenager things as well.

I feel a sense of pride from being Catholic and staying Catholic in college. It isn't a hindrance. It adds depth to my life, and through my faith, I have been able to help others by being there for people who have no one to talk to. I have been able to help those who are lost, those who hold different beliefs, and those who simply seek to understand.

Something I have noticed while being at college is that a lot of people look down on virgins and virginity. I have heard college students questioning each other about who were still virgins. I, personally, have seen someone ridiculed for being a virgin, and that is wrong. Why would someone criticize and demean a person for saving an act as sacred as sex for their future spouse? It is especially difficult for people who have lost their virginity and make a decision to live a pure and chaste life waiting for their spouse. For these people (both those who decide to  wait for their spouse and those who move on from their past to live a chaste life) making the choice to live purely and chastely is not "bad." They are committed to their future spouse, even before meeting them.

I know that a popular argument today is the idea that a person should be "experienced" before marriage. Is that what society is reducing marriage to? "A gratifying sexual experience?" The true purposes of marriage are to be unitive and procreative. Marriage unifies a man and a woman and allows for procreation. In marriage, a person gives of themselves freely, totally, faithfully, and fruitfully. As Jackie Francois says, "Trust me: when sex includes all of those things, that’s when someone really knows what they’re doing."