I grew up in a Catholic family, attended Catholic school all my life and attended mass every Sunday. Growing up, my faith consisted of getting mass “over with” and reciting memorized prayers with little or no meaning behind them. My parish and school conveyed faith and religion as a strict, rigid set of rules that I had to follow, and if you did X, Y and X, you were going to Hell.

It wasn’t until high school that I started discovering my faith for myself. Faith is not a set of rules you have to follow or reciting memorized prayers. Faith is your very personal relationship with God. I learned that God isn’t just some authority figure high up in the sky. He wants us to view Him as a friend.

When I left for college, I thought my faith was pretty solid, but I had no idea what God had in store for me. Only a few days into college, I was overcome with anxiety and depression and had to withdraw for the fall semester. My suffering led me to find my faith and actually declare a theology major. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about being religious or having faith. You don’t have to be really religious to know God. You won’t be labeled a “Jesus freak.” Being religious does not mean you can’t go out and have a good time. It’s college. You're supposed to have fun and live your life.

I have learned to live by the Jesuit motto “Find God in all things.” So I ask myself every day, "Where did you see God today?" God is everywhere. He reveals Himself to us through people.

I think we tend to make prayer more complicated than it needs to be. It’s simple, really. It doesn’t have to take up a lot of time. It’s talking to God. Having a conversation with Him and listening. I see God all over the place. I see Him in my best friend’s smile. I hear Him in my mother’s laugh. I see Him when I see a dog wagging its tail. I see Him when I see someone hold the door open for another person. I even see Him in suffering and tragedy.

It doesn’t matter where you are, whether you’re in the chapel, in the classroom or on the athletic field. God is everywhere. He meets you where you are. Just because He doesn’t answer your prayer right away doesn’t mean He doesn’t hear you. He knows what we need and when we need it. His timing is perfect. God has a plan. Trust in Him. So in closing, I ask you to ask yourself this question, and keep asking yourself and others this question: where did you see God today?