Shay

Awhile ago someone at my church once asked me if I would write something about what it was like to be a young Catholic out in the world. I was take aback because, quite frankly, I’m a pretty horrible Catholic. Some would describe me as one of those “Holiday Catholics.” They are the people who pop out of their little hidey-hole during Christmas and Easter and show up at mass. Of course, I also go when my mother is around to guilt me into attending. Devout Catholics roll their eyes at me. Or wonder why I even bother calling myself Catholic. But no matter how many times I go to church or don’t go to church, I still identify with it…because it was how I was raised. I find comfort when I do go in the familiarity with the mass. But I won’t lie…there are a lot of things about Catholicism that have me wondering what I really do believe. The truth is, I’ve always been a little hesitant when it comes to talking about my spirituality. After all, it’s one of the two topics that you’re not... - Shay

The older I get, the more I tend to realize that I have my go-to stock of jokes to use on people when I meet them for the first time. Usually it’s a surefire combination of self-deprecation, sarcasm and a smidgeon of racism (only against my own race… I mean, c’mon, isn’t that one of the perks of holding that membership card?). The one I used to say all the time is that I was quite precocious in my own way: I started my quarter-life crisis at the tender age of nineteen. Since the dawn of my college life, I had always been riddled with a sort of angst. Similar to many, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. But for me, it wasn’t just a mere concern…it was an all out sort of silent panic that raged in my head. Sooooo much angst…yes, yes…I know. Of course, now that I’m well into my late-twenties, that preciousness has slowly evolved into more of an emotional developmental issue. (Did I mention that I have a knack for hyperbole?) I’ve read all sort of things online... - Shay