!"#$%&#'% )*+,-. /0, 102 345+6 7,08*-9: ;.

04-* <%
)+66= !>4? '@#'A#%B

Sallys Spiritual Journey
I like to say that I am a very religious person, but in the mist of everything I doubt
what I truly believe in. So am I a religious person or am I just pretending to follow what I
have been let to believe is right? Several situations present themselves and they can either
make life easy or very difficult. I like to think that the many struggles that god presents in
peoples life is so that we can make a change for the better and not for the worst. Theresa
of Avila, Jane Goodall, Oscar Romero and Dorothy Day were one of the many people,
who where handed down the task to change the world and the tasks were far from easy.
When I was a little girl the routine was to get ready every Sunday so that we
could go to church. I was the only one of three sisters to have a true commitment to the
church. I was so committed to being ready for church that I decided to become an altar
girl. I really thought that I was going to make something great out of being an altar girl,
especially when altar spaces were limited. After a while I started to think that maybe the
decision of being an altar girl wasnt all that my decision, maybe my parents implanted
the idea in my head; maybe is was someone from Sunday school how thought that it
would be a great idea for me to be closer to god. I found out that I was not happy being
an altar girl because I started to feel like I was pushed to making that decision and that
decision was not all mine; being an altar girl was not the true me.
My spirituality is rooted in Catholicism. I like to think that I was a placed in the
Catholic Church and in this world for a reason. What is that reason you ask? At the
moment it is unknown and unclear. All my life I have known that I was placed here to do
something great, but that seems to be a long way from arms reach. There are so many
situations that I have been through, my moms depression, my moms suicidal attempts,
!"#$%&#'% )*+,-. /0, 102 345+6 7,08*-9: ;.04-* <%
)+66= !>4? '@#'A#%B

my dads past stressful financial situation and my very own depression. All this situations
as horrible, hard and sad as they are have thought me not only to be strong, but also to be
compassionate and understanding. I like to think that all these situations have made my
ego diminish and made me more comprehensive for the future situations that will present
themselves in my life.
I believe that my spiritual journey, even though its on going, has started. I think
that my true spiritual journey started when I was born, but the time I started to see some
sort of spiritual path was when I decided to go to college. I was born and raised in South
Central Los Angeles, in that part of the city were higher education was never a priority.
When I was in middle school I never really herd that there was a chance for me to
become something in life. The many phrases that I used to hear were you all are going to
end up in prison, dead and even pregnant (for the girls). The was a lack of guidance I
school, but I thank god for giving amazing parents that guided and made sure that I new
how important education was for my future.
My quest for god and the meaning of my life is still in process and there is no way
of knowing when I will find it completely, if I ever do. I think that the central things
about my spiritual journey are finding who I really am, the true Sally. If I have to
continue to follow the Catholic tradition, go to church on Sundays and pray to god every
day, that is what I will continue to do. If I have to change religion than so be it, I have to
be happy with the path that has been laydown for me even if I do not see it in front of me
clear eyed.
We read several stories about people who found their spirituality, some searching
for a really long time and others seem to have been lead to their spiritual journey quite
!"#$%&#'% )*+,-. /0, 102 345+6 7,08*-9: ;.04-* <%
)+66= !>4? '@#'A#%B

rapidly. Theresa of Avila was one of the first ladies who I read about and I definitely
learned a lot from her. She was a very strong nun, who went through many hardships in
life. Theresa of Avila (not mother Theresa) was a person who was devoted to finding her
spirituality, even if it meant leaving the convent she resided in several times due to
illnesses. Theresa of Avila, like me, knew that she had a purpose in life and she did not
give up even after she had found her calling, which was to teach women the value that
they had in the religious practices. She took many risk in life, but all paid off for her
because she found her spirituality with her persistence and devotion to god.
Jane Goodall loved and wanted to be with the animals and that is exactly what she
accomplished in her long and ongoing spiritual journey. Jane Goodall spend several years
in the forest learning from and about the chimpanzees that she dearly loved. When Jane
Goodall was in the forest she learned several things about the chimp, the way they lived,
they way they communicated and most importantly the way they acted towards each
other. The chimps acted exactly the way human acted towards each other, in such a cruel
and aggressive manner.
Jane Goodall was surprised and came to the realization that humans shouldnt act
towards each other in such a hateful and cruel manner. Jane Goodall while studying
chimps in a rainforest left all the materialistic things of life, so that she could be one with
the world. Jane Goodall learned to open her mind and body to the world so that she could
have a clear focused mind that will allow her to see the real existence of her and her
ongoing work. Jane Goodall new that she was one with the animals and her spiritual
journey opened her up to the world through mind, body and soul.
!"#$%&#'% )*+,-. /0, 102 345+6 7,08*-9: ;.04-* <%
)+66= !>4? '@#'A#%B

Oscar Romero was a father who to others seemed to lack valor and a lot of self-
confidence. Oscar Romero was a father who did not see the path that god had laid before
him. Since Romero did not see that god wanted him to do something about the oppression
that the small town of El Salvador was going through many people close to him had to
suffer. The murderous oppressors killed some of the people that were closes to Romero
and many other followers of the church were torture, killed and kick out of their home.
As cruel as the killings were Romero finally understood and opened his eyes, he
saw the path that god had laid and was once blurry to him. Oscar Romero, after opening
his eyes, understood that his voice was designated to be heard and make a change for the
better of the Salvadorian people. Opening his eyes was central for his spiritual findings
and I think that many of us have bandages in our eyes, including me. I think that Oscar
Romero thought us to be aware of our surrounding and to help out those that need help in
any way that we can, because any help makes a difference to that person life.
Dorothy Day, one of the last people I learned about, was a very strong and unique
lady. Day from the start new that she was on earth for a reason, that reason was not yet
clear. She was a women rights activist and knew that her voice and what she had to say
would make a change, eventually in life. Dorothy Days life took a turn for the worst
after she was pregnant and decided to have an abortion. She lost her way, she no longer
knew what she believed in, she was searching for something, but did not know what that
something was. When she decided to abort her first child she fled from he city and went
to a secluded place were she had time to reflect on her life, the many decisions that she
had made and the thing she wanted from life.
!"#$%&#'% )*+,-. /0, 102 345+6 7,08*-9: ;.04-* <%
)+66= !>4? '@#'A#%B

Luckily Dorothy Day befriended a nun who showed her that god loved everyone
and that there were many things that she could do to find god. Dorothy Day was skeptical
about god, the things she could do for others and the happiness that she would get out of
helping gods people. Day began to help the less fortunate little by little until eventually
she had a place were she could make a change for the less fortunate. Dorothy Day had a
lot of perseverance; she faced many challenges in life, but continued to surpass them all.
The tasks at hand were not easy, but she had gods people around her that helped. After
horrible situations Day saw her purpose in life, see found her true spiritual path.
We all have a set spiritual journey; the day that my mom decided to give birth to
me, my spiritual journey was written. I know that my spiritual journey was somewhat
clear when I decided to enroll in a four-year college. However, I changed majors when I
was two years into my business program. I then decided to pursue the arts and landed my
self in Interactive Media Design, a passion was found. I know that my beliefs and values
have been centralized in the catholic tradition, but that has not stopped me from searching
elsewhere. In all of the chaos, I value my family and the teachings that they have passed
down to me about the value of what it means to be together in the good and the bad. I
definitely think this has been central to finding/seeing my spiritual path. All of the things
that I have been through in life personally or by seeing others around me suffer have
made me strong and very knowledgeable. Theresa of Avila, Jane Goodall, Oscar Romero
and Dorothy Day have thought me that everyones spiritual journey takes time. I need to
start opening my eyes, my mind, and my soul to the spiritual journey that God, Buddha or
any other god laid for me, the true meaning and purpose of Sally.