Joshua Bosveld

Senior Writing

Mary Schimmel

1/11/2021

The Times I’ve Had

I've come to the realization that it is surprisingly difficult to boil 4 years down into three

different words. I'd love to sum up each year with a single word but since that isn't

mathematically possible I will do what I can to describe my entire time here in 3 separate

adjectives. When you get down to it, Covenant was a combination of nerve-wracking, instructive

and generally apathetic. This isn’t exactly a perfect description of the past four years but I will do

what I can to explain why they fit.

The beginning of High School was awful, I describe it as nerve-wracking but it also fits in

the category of anxious and stressful. I came into Covenant without any strong friends and

absolutely zero self-confidence. As someone who didn't play sports I was required to really push

myself out of my comfort zone to make friends. This was difficult as I enjoyed the peace and

serenity of staying inside my shell even if it meant boredom. Soon I learned that I didn't have to

play sports to make friends and if you are willing to put yourself out there people will accept you.

Covenant could also be accurately described as instructive. Now I don't mean this

entirely in a scholarly way (although that is part of it) but more so in a social and personal way.

As I made friendships and settled in, I began to learn new things. One of the first things I

learned is that it's not worth worrying about what others might think of you. Self confidence can

get you a long way in life, and the best way to get that is just to forget about what others might

think. Of course there are always opinions that we should take into consideration but when

people are negative it's best to learn to ignore them.

Covenant also taught me a lot as far as book knowledge. It is a great school with good

teachers who do what they can to instruct their students properly. I gained a lot of head
knowledge as well as spiritual wisdom in the way the instruction was always tied back to God.

This is something you learn to appreciate more as you grow older and begin to understand that

many are not given the chance to grow up with this. Even already now I am able to see the

blessing and benefits of going to a good, Godly school for the majority of my schooling.

The final adjective that I should be able to use to describe Covenant should be Godly.

However, it seems as if that would not be the best description. I am by no means saying that it

is ungodly, neither that there aren’t people in covenant who are very Godly young people. But, it

seems as if there is a general apathy toward Christianity in Covenant. I have hung out with and

been friends with people who would be considered “good kids” and those who are considered

“bad kids” and it can be difficult to distinguish between the two. While the things that the “bad

kids” do may be frowned upon for “crossing the line” I have noticed that they generally have

more discussions regarding religion.

This being said, I have noticed a deafening lack of conversation and care in general and

all of us are at fault. I know for a fact that I do not dare speak of my religion as loudly and openly

as I should, even among my friends and I am sure others could relate. While I love Covenant

and the students and teachers in it, I see a need for less apathy toward what we believe. The

teachers do what they are able to bring out God and Christ in everything and yet students do

not seem to care. Covenant should be as a light unto the world and a city upon a hill and I am

scared that that is not the case.

In order to avoid ending on a negative note I would like to recap covenant as positively

as possible. It taught me to learn to make friends and get myself out of my comfort zone as well

as made me wiser in my knowledge of God. I have made many solid friendships and good

Godly people have been placed in my life to make me a better person. All in all it has been a

great blessing to me and a wonderful experience.