QotD: Fill in the blank

Jul 13, 2006 at 2:31 PM

When did you first realize that you were an individual? Was it a positive or negative experience?

Question submitted by George.

I was seven, sitting in a church with my mother and the rest of the congregation. Waiting to partake of my First Reconciliation, after weeks of Sunday School lessons (and two years of Catholic primary school before being transplanted in the middle of nowhere).

When I turned to my mother and said that I didn't want to do it, that I didn't feel right about it, it was no doubt a shock for her, coming from the youngest of her seven children. But she listened, she considered my feelings, and accepted my right to choose my own religious path. Weighty stuff for a kid, but hugely empowering.

I'd say that was positive.