Go on Awakening

If you are under 30 years old and haven't been on the Awakening retreat, go on Awakening (Oct. 17-19). It's as simple as that.

That's my advice, and I'd like to back it up with my experience on my Awakening retreat as a Wash U freshman 10 years ago.

I went on Awakening as tentatively as one could go. I was wary about missing a weekend away from new friends during my first semester, wary about going away with a bunch of people I didn't know, wary about the idea of being spoon-fed religion for a weekend.

By the end of the weekend, I realized that I need not have been wary at all.

The weekend is intense. I won't deny that. But it's intense in a good way. It's intense in the way that you get to know people better in three days (and essentially you're forced to get to know people in small group discussion, which, for my introverted side, was really helpful) that you'll get to know most people in three months. It's intense in a way that I imagined college would be--intense discussions in the quad, heated debates about life and love and politics and religion and relationship, talks that go well into the night. In no way did I feel like I missed out on a weekend away from Wash U. Rather, I felt like the rest of Wash U missed out on Awakening.

Also, Awakening isn't about spoon-feeding you religion in any way. Sure, there's prayer and confession and Communion, but they're presented in the most open, welcoming environment possible. In one weekend I realized that my religion, my faith, applied to all aspects of my life, not just the hour or so I put in my time on Sundays. It exemplifies that idea, and although you can wrap your mind around that idea by reading it here or hearing it during Gary's homilies, it's something that needs to be experienced firsthand.

Here's perhaps my biggest sell for Awakening: I was a huge doubter about the weekend before going into the retreat. After the retreat, I was not only a table leader for the next Awakening, but I also went on Growth (Awakening 2.0) after that, and then my senior year I gave the opening talk at Awakening (this is coming from a person who shudders at the thought of public speaking). I wouldn't have done any of those things if Awakening hadn't moved me. And it did, it really did. It moved me.

That's my two cents. Give it a try. Go on Awakening and being fully human, fully awake for a weekend.