God has always been a large part of my life. I am catholic, and I have always taken my religion very seriously. As I have gotten older, though, my curiosities about my beliefs grew stronger. Unfortunately, this led to the growth of my doubts of religion, and even of God. I attended a Catholic High School, and my junior year was filled with many instances in which I doubted God and my religion. Luckily for me, though, I attended a religious retreat, Logos, at the onset of my senior year. Through prayer,
             private reflection, and interaction with other people at identical points in their religious growth, I became completely reassured of God's existence, and felt closer to God than ever.
             I struggled with so many doubts about my religion going into the retreat. The fact that I was surrounded with many other people that felt exactly the same as me helped out tremendously. I no longer felt like an outcast, weary of sharing views that included a high level of doubt. Dialogue between a group of persons dealing with religion is a great way for people to understand many different perspectives, and helps realize one's own true perspective. This group dialogue helped pave the way to realizing my true relationship with God. Also, the bonds formed with people after sharing such sacred feelings are tremendous. Everyone felt so comfortable around each other, and I had never felt so blessed. The support I felt from the group benefited me enormously as I concentrated on prayer.
             Prayer is something that I did habitually for sixteen years, not knowing exactly what I was doing. I would say the Our Father and pray that God would bless my family and friends and all the sick and starving people. The exact same prayer became so instilled in my mind that I could recite it as I fell asleep. At my retreat, I finally understood how prayer is supposed to work. I began by having a conversation with God. I told God everythi...