After only a semester at UM, I can confidently say that I miss my Catholic, all-girls high school. As I was building my schedule for the spring semester, I wanted to carve out time for a theology class. While it’s not a required course at UM, I wanted to study something suited towards my personal interests. However, it is quite challenging to balance faith and academics in college.
Without the required theology class, I understood that I would need to incorporate my faith into my life instead of relying on school to do it for me. At the time, I didn’t realize how much taking theology impacted my own academic experience. I attended Catholic school for twelve years, making the class a staple in my schedule. Not having any religious study throughout my day-to-day life anymore is quite strange.
My high school gave me plenty of opportunities to explore the realms of my faith outside of the classroom. We could join Campus Ministry and participate in faith activities. Although I was not a participant in the program, there were many events and activities at my school that I found very gratifying. Also sitting in a class with some of my closest friends discussing our different attitudes on our faith was a quite rewarding aspect of high school. Whether my classmates and I were close or not, we all knew each other and could relate on a deeper level with one another. While there were times that a small community felt a little suffocating, it allowed us to come together and become stronger.
At UM, the community is completely different. There isn’t the same camaraderie among peers or the same spiritual connection that I had in high school. This is lacking because there is not a central figure that holds us together as one or reinforces our customs as an institution. We may all throw up the U and find a sense of belonging among each other. However, we are not working together to instill a sense of commitment and faith building. Like attending theology class two or three times a week for 75 minutes. Or even building a strong bond with your theology teachers who are insightful about religion and the world as a whole.
I didn’t expect myself to miss structured time to discuss my religion this much. Theology wasn’t just a requirement in Catholic school — it was a time where I could decompress and learn something that wasn’t about being correct or graded. Theology class was a time to reflect on my own faith and how I view my relationship with God.
Now in college, I find myself neglecting my faith and not making time for prayer. Although I understand that I can take some religious studies courses at UM or join UCatholic, it isn’t the same as attending a school founded on Catholicism. UM’s environment doesn’t reflect the same Catholic values or traditions that I would see in my old school. Although UM isn’t a Catholic institution or required to incorporate religion, I still struggle with the lack of Catholic presence and faith-sharing on campus.
When I attended a small Catholic school, I was surrounded by my faith and the intricate entities of it. Prayer services, special traditions for Thanksgiving or Christmas and mandatory mass became part of my regular routine. I got used to having Catholicism built into my class schedule and environment, so it became a huge part of my identity.
Attending a religious school had a huge impact on me. I miss being at a Catholic school that provided time for my religion and gave new insight into my spiritual beliefs. I miss being at an all-girls school. I appreciated wearing a uniform to school every day and being in classes where young women were taught to find their voices. In college, it just seems like everyone attends class because they have to attend class. It isn’t the same atmosphere where I knew all my teachers and peers personally.
Although I am very grateful for my education at UM, I do miss the Catholic environment that taught me to be more proud of my faith and to take a more liberal arts approach in my academics.