Throughout my life I have found that people will make major changes to their life for the things that they believe in the strongest. Whether that belief is religion, a certain story, or that something is going to happen, in our mind we can make it fact.
I have experienced this first hand with religion. In 7th grade things started going downhill in my life. My grades were slowly dropping, I was getting in trouble more often, and I was finding myself not caring about things close to me. I had to find some way to get myself back on track. My solution was that I was going to start getting deeper into my Christianity. I found out that I was not following all of the basic rules and some other “guidelines.”
Just the thought that I was dishonoring god, all that I live for, killed me. My firm belief in Christianity, whether it’s real or not, is what brought me back on track. I started praying every night before bed and following all the rules and regulations stated in the Bible.
This turnaround in my life could not have happened at a better time. It was right at the start of my teen years, the years that basically sculpt out the rest of my life. Because of that I have been able to get past many of the obstacles in my life that many of my peers were not able to hurdle.
I don’t know where I would be now if it weren’t for that turnaround. All I know is that because of that I got a 4.0 in 8th grade, a $20,000 academic scholarship to a Catholic high school, and have not received a single detention.
Many people have made these changes in their lives. The main thing that I have noticed to cause these changes are the people’s firm beliefs. I believe that they believe in these things more firmly because they were not told that it is fact or fiction. They made that decision for themselves.
Whenever I see someone who’s life has turned around I always wonder what it was that caused it. My father changed his life for the belief that if he didn’t he would lose my mom. My mom changed her life for the belief that she could create better opportunity for her family. My brother changed his life for the belief that if he did he could accomplish more and go further into sports. And I changed mine for the belief that if I didn’t I would lose all the potential in my life.
The strongest thing that people hold dear are their beliefs. Whether that belief is religion, a certain story, something that is going to happen, or something totally different. People’s beliefs are their potential and the force that drives them. This I believe.