Definitely Not Small Talk

by she said
 

I'm not really that good at small talk. I like conversations where I can really voice an opinion, learn something new or pick up something different. 

I go to a Catholic school and every year I go on either a retreat or recollection with my class, and that's when I get to do just that. I get to have an in-depth conversation, understand people I never thought I would, and pray like a family with people who I'm not related to.

They always teach us in our recollections that we should never judge people by how they act or how we see them, which is sometimes difficult for me to do. I judge people way too easily - by how noisy they are in class, the shoes they wear, or how they do their hair, but I seldom get to understand why they are the way they are. So I'm thankful to get this opportunity to get to know my classmates better. 

We openly shared our thoughts and feelings to each other during the recollection. And after hearing their stories of the challenges they face and what they've been through, I saw them in a different light and it has inspired me to become a stronger person and to always look at what I have in a more positive light.

We were all in tears after, and I am moved that my own story has touched them somehow. 

I always feel renewed after recollections. I still get to go home and have the same life, but I will live it differently.