One Day in the Hallway

As a senior in high school, I believe I have the privilege of announcing whole-heartedly what I have learned over the past few years as a student. Not only have I been tested academically and had my talents pushed to their limits in this journey, I also met and befriended my peers along the way. One particular day as I walked through the hallway minding my own business, I noticed a crucial aspect of my school; though the diversity of the school ethnically is not as varied as one would expect, the beliefs each person carries with them through the hallways measure quite differently. People of every religion, virtue, spirituality, and value pass everyday at transition; it's funny to think of how people with such similar backgrounds may dedicate their lives to completely different ideas...

At that moment, I realized how our beliefs, whether they express a set definition or not, plays such an important role in the lives of youth today. It provides a sense of self-worth while giving life meaning simulataneously. There appears to be no reason to live without a way in which to do so. Having thought this, I began to wonder even more. How does a person define religion, and what causes one person to believe something different from the others? For many people, it may grow, wither, or completely change over time. If it does change, what causes this change? Perspective? Maturity?

Barbara Kingsolver strives to answer these questions in her novel, The Poisonwood Bible, with Leah, the character she introduces at the beginning as a strong believer in her father's Baptist ways; after various events in the Congo that tested her original beliefs including her own father's disrespect, her values lay in the heart of Africa itself by the end. She takes a common Christian prayer and makes it her own by praying, "Forgive me, Africa, according to the multitude of thy mercies"(Kingsolver, 525). As Africa became a part of Leah, it grew to be her way of life.