I am what some people may refer to as a Cradle Catholic, meaning I was born and raised in the Catholic Church. I attended thirteen years of private school, this sounds like a lot, because it is. I am twenty years old, this means more then half my life was spent in a plaid skirt with a red, white, or blue polo to match. A lot of people have opinions on Catholic Education, I'm not here to say that you should send your kids to Catholic School or that Catholic School is better than Public School; I just believe that Catholic School was the best fit for me, and I'm so thankful for the sacrifices that my parents made to send me to Catholic School.

I am grateful my parents sent me to Catholic School because I was able to live out my faith on a day to day bases. I love being apart of the Catholic Faith, I loved being able to talk about my faith at school and have a chapel availed for me to visit whenever I needed. I loved having a Campus Ministry Team that was always supportive and safe place to visit when I needed help. I loved having teachers that would answer questions about my faith that I had, no matter how pressing. If I had a question about my faith my teachers, CMT director, or high school Chaplain were always willing to answer them, they would sit down with me and discuss my faith with me in an understanding way.

I am grateful my parents sent me to Catholic School because I'm from Shawnee Kansas, and the public schools in Shawnee have bigger class sizes then the Catholic schools. This works for some people, some people do great in big class sizes, for me though I needed the smaller environment. I did so much better having a class of 180 students, which to some people may sound like a lot if they are from smaller towns, but for me the 180 students was a much better fit than having 500 students in my class. I loved my senior class and all the other classes at my school. My School was a community, and two years after graduating from my Highschool I am still apart of that community.

I am grateful that my parents sent me to Catholic school because of the uniform. I know that sounds strange, and I know a lot of people won't believe me. Honestly, one of the hardest things about college is that I don't know what I'm going to wear to class that day when I wake up. I loved my plaid skirt, as hard as it may be to believe. A lot of people think that a uniform takes away your individuality, but having a uniform made people notice me for my personality and not what I was wearing. People didn't know me because of my funky haircut or what type of pants I wore to school, because we all did look pretty similar in our uniforms. People knew who you where by the way you acted and your personality, your an individual because of who you where as a person not what you wore, and I loved my uniform for that.

I am grateful my parents sent me to Catholic school because of all the amazing opportunities I received. I had the opportunity to go on mission trips and help others in need. I had opportunities to help build up the city around me doing service work. I was able to travel to Washington DC three years in a row for the March for life, as well as going to Indianapolis for the National Catholic Youth Conference my senior year. These experiences are ones I will never forget. I also know a lot of people who traveled to Chicago, Louisiana, Virginia and many more places to participate in mission trips helping the homeless and building houses, all opportunities given to them by our Catholic High school.

I am grateful that my parents sent me to Catholic school because of the community it gave me. As mentioned earlier in this article, my school was small in size. The community at my high school, is a community I will be apart of my entire life. I made amazing friends in high school and still talk to them almost everyday. I also had amazing teachers who I still have contact with on a regular basis. I love the community at my high school and all it has done for me during my four years of high school and after.

I am grateful my parents sent me to Catholic School because it helped me form my faith and gave me a community that I will always be apart of. My parents sacrificed a lot to send me to Catholic School for thirteen years. I am so thankful for everything they did for me to give me the Catholic education that I received. Public schools are great, especially if you don't want religion involved in your education; Most of my friends now in college went to public schools. For me, a Catholic education was the perfect fit and my parents knew that. So thank you, Mom and Dad for all you did for me in order for me to receive the education that I did.