Supporting peers, volunteering can change the world

Young Faith Essay Finalist

By Alexa Gates

“Jesus Christ is my only spouse; he is more splendid than the sun and the stars,” she exclaimed, rejecting Procop’s proposal for marriage. Procop, the son of the governor, was so outraged by her rejection, that he brought her to the governor and accused her of being a Christian. The governor pleaded with the beautiful, innocent girl by offering her gifts to deny God. She genuinely refused.

Angered by her virtue, the governor ordered her to be placed in chains, thinking it would scare her into denying God, but the courageous, young girl joyfully acknowledged God and refused to deny him. Outraged, the governor sentenced her to death. Dragged through the streets, naked, Agnes was tortured by the by-standers, but God kept her purity and innocence protected. Despite the torment, Agnes stayed strong in her faith and love for God. Agnes of Rome was only 13 when she was martyred. It is not easy to take up a cross and follow Jesus, especially at a young age, but age should not be a barrier. I am encouraged by this Scripture to make a difference in the world and spread God’s words, despite the difficulties and challenges that are thrown at me. 

The World: becoming increasingly secular by the days. The Devil: becoming more prominent in our everyday lives. The Youth: becoming less focused on God and more focused on the physical world.

Selfishness, greed, a secular society, physical desire and materialism threaten the spiritual life of not only the youth, but everyone regardless of age. We are taught that beauty, money and success bring happiness and the youth are most susceptible to these pressures. Little girls play with Barbie, whose features are so distorted that no one can possibly look like that, yet they are told to look like plastic dolls because that’s “beautiful” and everyone will adore them. Little boys are told to be “manly” and that the only way to get a “hot” wife is to be rich and athletic.

As a senior in high school, it is also hard trying to fit society’s ideologies. We all want to fit in with the cool kids and be popular. I fall prisoner to this pressure. Peers, even friends, pressure me to go out on the weekend to party, smoke and drink. It is difficult to take a step back and say no. By saying no, these peers mock and taunt me for not going, saying that I am “not cool”. The news we watch is filled with traumatic stories about stealing, killings, even school shootings. What happened to stories about people helping others and standing up for what is right? Why must we focus on the evil in society? The secular world, materialistic views, peer pressure and what we are taught by society threaten us and make us believe that we are too young and too unimportant to speak about God.

We are not too young. Children have a strong impact on people and their thoughts. I have personally noticed that when children get involved with helping others, they have an enormous effect on those who they are helping and those around them. In my ninth-grade year, my CYM group and I passed out water, food and blankets to the homeless in downtown Little Rock. I got the opportunity to talk to some of the individuals and hear their stories. Once we finished handing out all of the supplies, one individual came up to my group and me, told us thank you and that he saw Jesus in every one of the volunteers there — which was a majority of teenagers.

Last year, a group in our school held a Christmas party for deaf children. We got the opportunity to play with them and experience their disabilities. The joy on their faces after a piggyback ride was priceless. Knowing that those children had one of the best nights of their lives influenced me to not only do it again this year but to volunteer more.  Jesus told us in Matthew 5:16, “Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” That day our light shined for those individuals and helped them realize that God is everywhere, even in little deeds.

The verse from Jeremiah 1:7 encourages me to volunteer more because young people have such an influence on others around them. I am encouraged to tell other young people in my parish and around the world that Jesus is everywhere and even little, easy deeds, like talking to someone who is lonely or feeding the hungry, can impact someone’s life, while serving God and spreading his word. I am encouraged to be like St. Agnes and raise up my cross for God.

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