Let me first begin by mentioning I am a very open minded person who respects and accepts different religions, beliefs and faiths. With that, I have always been intrigued about religious denominations and learning the elements of all. In addition, each religion is unique and fascinating and people can take something meaningful from each to mold into an ethical person. Regarding my personal belief system, I would consider myself an atheist. I was raised Catholic and went through the Catholic education system where Christian values and morals were instilled into me from an early age. During my youth the practice of Christianity never really connected with me and I learned early on that it wasn’t something I wanted to follow. In high school I took a course and studied world religions. This class really fascinated me because there was so much diversity and perspectives to learn. The main consensus I extracted from my studies is all religious followers have and put all their faith in the higher power to make their life better in some way. My question at 16 years old was, “why aren’t more people having faith in themselves first to accomplish this?” I think at this time is where I figured out following a religion wasn’t for me.

One thing I really enjoy when I am travelling is finding a place of worship and going at a time when no service is happening and there isn’t anyone present. The calming effect a church or temple has is surreal and I can really feel the warm embrace and love. Most of the churches I visit have really positive and inspiring bible passages on the walls about love, hope, happiness and I find a lot of enjoyment reading them. With each visit I further understand the appeal of following a faith and visiting a place of worship weekly. The feeling of acceptance is apparent and it represents a positive attachment to something that can better a person by following a faith.

Whether you are a believer or not, I encourage all to visit a church while travelling, especially at a time where you may be feeling down or you are losing track of yourself. Take the ambience from the place of worship and channel it through you to bring faith into yourself to accomplish what you want. The faith you should be finding is optimism and confidence in yourself to bring you strength. Fill yourself up with self love and acceptance. I know it’s easier said than done, but take this time to make a start and practice it daily. Take this new faith and love and change whatever it may be to help your struggle or insecurity. The cold hard fact is when we are struggling in life we tend to lose faith quickly and believe our insecurities. This has such a negative effect on our well being and it sucks the joy right out of us. I always say a person is the only person who can change something in their life, no one else is going to do it for you and if you learn to do it on your own it makes you such an emotionally strong person. Even if you are a believer in a faith, try to keep having the confidence in yourself along side with the higher power. Always remember, never conform to your struggle or insecurities because they hold you back from having ultimate faith in yourself.

By: Olivia Goheen