If anyone had asked me last summer about my plans after graduation, I would have said that I was going to move to the U.S. to complete a one-year postgraduate fellowship with a giant media company. 

When I left high school I told myself university is where I would find a husband. Well, I have one year left of my bachelor’s degree with no husband in sight. 

I grew up always attending Catholic school, from elementary school through university.

Recently I was able to visit Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont. This site is a national shrine consecrated to the Canadian Martyrs, a group of eight Jesuits who lived in community with the Huron people and who were tortured and killed for their faith. 

I was surprised at how well Wim Wenders summarized the first five years of Pope Francis’  pontificate in his latest documentary, Pope Francis: A Man of His Word. In the end, it truly deepened my admiration for Pope Francis. 

This summer is going to be different than summers in the past. After graduating from Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College a few weeks ago, I have struggled to maintain a strong spiritual life without the regularity of a school and work schedule.

Most of my childhood Sundays were spent below the stained glass windows of a beautiful church filled with incense. I was a “cradle Catholic,” baptized in a white gown and confirmed when I still had braces. However, some Sundays I spent in a modestly decorated Pentecostal church. 

I don’t go to a Catholic high school, but I have friends who do. Some of their stories suggest a failure in the Catholic education system that makes me feel relieved that I’m not their classmate. But I think if schools continue down this path, we are endangering the future of Catholic values in society, which is disheartening to me.

Because of the Canada Summer Jobs program’s new attestation, the summer camp where I work will run with staffing changes, reduced programming and an increase in registration costs. 

When I was elected student trustee for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board a year ago, I had no idea what to expect. What I have learned leaves me both grateful and hopeful.