Academic Essay

Sanctuary. A word often times associated with the church. The dusty pews, the old
books, and silence so deafening it’s as if the only thing that can be heard is the sound of one’s
beating heart. It’s a sanctuary for most however for thirteen years of my life, all I ever felt was
judgment.
In my sixth-grade year, my parents divorced after my mom suffered an unexpected and
traumatic stroke that completely debilitated the left side of her body. Not all was lost though;
amid her recovery, she found the courage to officially come out as queer, and her partner has
been one of the strongest lights in my life ever since. Unfortunately, throughout that life change,
I found that the friends I relied on most in my time of need cared more about their standing with
the church than our friendship. Throughout grades seven and eight, I endured a fair amount of
bullying both from fellow students and even more so, their parents. One would think that grown
adults might withhold their biases for a twelve-year-old simply trying to attend their little
brother’s baseball game, but that wasn’t the case. I can’t tell you how many times I was asked
how my own mother reconciles her romantic relationship with God. Gone were the days when
the content of my heart meant more than the principles of religion. Isolation became my new
sanctuary.
As one could imagine, I have gone on to become heavily involved in activism. Even back
in eighth grade, when I hadn’t quite developed a concrete moral compass yet, I knew that my
school was not teaching me what I know they should’ve been. One week in particular there was a
guest speaker sent from a local Catholic-run pregnancy center. He gave his whole speech about
how men belong with women, and that abstinence is the only way to remain pure in the eyes of
God. Also noted was the fact that abortion is one of the worst sins anyone could commit because
conception yields a heartbeat, which ultimately yields a baby; and why would anyone want to
kill an innocent child? Immediately my hand shot up, and I asked him why he felt he had
authority over the matter if he was not the one directly carrying the child? This resulted in a long
and tense conversation that left me feeling very proud of myself and my teachers very concerned
for my developing mind.
I don’t regret my decision to speak up at all. I refused to be manipulated then, and my
beliefs hold true today. I believe that people are not defined by the situations they’re in, but by
what they make of their situations. Moreover, children should be able to make opinions for
themselves as they mature. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what my beliefs are, rather this is about
principle. Coercing children into believing something from a young age hinders their ability to
empathize with the other perspective. What I've come to strongly believe now is that in any case
empathy should be what unifies us as people regardless of religious affiliation. It must become
the new standard. I believe that empathy is taught through experience and if anything, that
lecture should’ve been about how we can better understand why women make those decisions
about their bodies. Change starts with the youth, and if we teach them to first empathize with
each other then we might just begin to foster a more accepting world. I would stand up for that
again in a heartbeat.