Kristine Penningroth-- Ecstasy

This topic is from the beginning of the semester, but I think that it can hold true for how I currently feel. The young man that came into class to talk to us about hiking that trail spoke about ecstacy. He said that he felt ecstacy when he reached the end of the trail and he had finished it and felt vindicated. He also spoke of the trials and tribulations that he endured to get to the end, his goal. This feeling is something that I can relate to when I think about school. I know, I know, how does this relate to ecstacy and anything in religion, but I think it is a parallel. As students we always talk about all the work we have to do, when the next break is, and how long it will be until the summer or graduation. In a way this is exactly like climbing a mountain and hiking a trail that takes you through many different states. School is like a mountain that needs to be climbed and the work that we do is just like the trials and tribulations that we face getting to the top. It isn't easy to go to class day in and day out and try our best and not always get the best grades. It's discouraging and often times we want to quit and not go back to trying, that feeling is natural. The thing however to remember is that our vindication is making it through another semester, year and ultimately to graduation. That is our ecstacy, that is what we are working towards and the feeling and the rush that we get when we have finally gotten there is just like making it to the top of the mountain or to the end of the two month long hike. I know this comparison is a stretch but I think that it is applicable and can be used. Everyone has their own ecstacy, for students it's graduation, for a hiker it's making it to the end of the trail or the top of the mountain, no matter which way you turn it an ecstacy is reached by every person at some point in their lives and in my case I have made it through another semester and am graduating in May: vindication!