Character

List of 3 items.

• Dealing With Change

  Liam P. – 2025
  
  

  I don't like change. I like to plan. I need to know what is going to happen in the future so that I am prepared. I do not like the unknown. One of the biggest unknowns I have faced in my life was when my brother, Camdon, moved away to college. To be fair, I knew the plan. I knew this day was coming. I knew that he was choosing a school only two hours away at the University of Florida. Go Gators! Camdon spent the summer preparing and included me in his exciting adventure. We visited campus together several times and shopped for all the necessities needed for his dorm room. This was fun, until it was not. Finally, August 9, 2023, arrived: the day Camdon left for school. The unknown had arrived. My brother was now at college, and I was home alone. I was not prepared for how much I would miss having him around and the emptiness I would feel. 
  
  

  Camdon is six years older than me. We have always been close. I had the best childhood with him - from playing games with him, to our mutual love of competitive swimming. He has always been someone I look up to. He is a great older brother. He gives great advice and guidance. We talk about everything – life, school, friends, teachers, sports, politics. We do not always agree, but I do value his opinion and listen to him (most of the time). Since he has started a new chapter in his life, I no longer have his light in the room next to me. This has been hard to wrap my head around. I have had to accept this change and adjust to my new normal. Even though Camdon and I talk every day, and I see him a few times a month, I miss him. Each time he leaves to go back to school, I am reminded how things once were and how different everything is now. I do not take for granted this time we have together.
  
  

  Learning to accept change is something I still struggle with today, but experiencing change will always be part of life. Camdon leaving for college taught me that a changed plan is still a plan, and that it is okay for plans to change. This has occurred time and time again in my life. More recently, choosing high schools. In the past three years I have been back and forth between three different high schools. For someone who doesn’t like change, I’ve had to really draw on this lesson I’ve learned from Camdon leaving that it’s okay for plans to change, especially if they change for the right reasons. Yes, I still do not like change, but I have learned to accept change a little better. I will miss my friends and memories made at Holy Comforter, but the only way to grow as a person is to change as a person. One of the things my brother and I share is our love for Disney…So, in the wise words of Winnie the Pooh, “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” This, I believe. 

  
  
  

• Building my Best Self

  Lily F. – 2025
  
  

  I have attended Holy Comforter ever since I was in Pre-K3, so I know Holy Comforter like the back of my hand. As I moved up through the grades, I remember how each year brought new challenges and adventures. Lower school was a journey filled with joy, belonging, growth, and new friendships. It was the times when Q and U got married, and there was a belief that people on the swings could touch the blue shade sail, and when there was a debate whether French vanilla ice cream or vanilla bean ice cream was better. 
  
  

  However, as middle school started, it was really a major shift. There were happy to sad moments, almost falling asleep in classes, friendship issues, struggling to prepare for tests, and always wanting to fit in. One class that really changed my perspective on life was seventh grade P.E. Coach K taught us about BEEF. Balance, eyes, elbows, and follow through, which is a shooting technique in basketball to get a free throw.  The way he explained it made sense to me, but my execution made it clear there was always room for improvement. I realized toward the end of seventh grade that this technique is something I view as life advice, too.  When it comes to Balance, that helps me achieve life’s challenges and can help me stay focused. For Eyes, I need to keep them up and always look towards my goal and keep a positive mindset. Elbows I can use to push those negative people and thoughts out of my life to focus on what’s truly important. Last, follow through because committing myself during tough times can help me overcome anything.
  
  

  I had pretty much all of those struggles when I started middle school, but I have realized that I’ve made personal gains over these three years. Middle school changed my perspective on life and helped me grow. One moment that showed me how far I’d come was when I made the decision to apply for the honor to lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Being selected to do that would mean I would have to walk in front of lots of people, which would be me leaving my comfort zone, but it also made me keep my eyes on my goal. Sports played a big role in that growth too, especially when it came to Balance, because I lost matches in tennis and struggled with stunts in cheer. Whether winning or losing, I learned about teamwork, perseverance, and how to handle disappointment.
  
  

  So yes, middle school was hard at times, but it also gave me valuable life lessons throughout the last three years. Using BEEF, I’ve learned how to stay focused, push through challenges, organize my thoughts, and continue to grow. As I prepare to go into high school, I remind myself that it is okay to be afraid and that each step into the unknown may bring nervousness but also excitement, and I am ready to embrace it. This, I believe.

  
  
  

• Strength Through Faith

  Ty I. – 2025
  
  

  One thing that I am concerned about for our generation is that we can lack toughness. We can be very fragile, unable to handle anything difficult, because our parents will run to our rescue if anything gets hard. The issue is that one day we are all going to be adults, with our own families and our own responsibilities. Being fragile now will equal being fragile later on in life. The first step towards getting tougher is being willing to do hard things.
  
  

  I had the special opportunity to start playing football for Holy Comforter the spring of my fourth grade year because my dad was one of the coaches. I was never the biggest player, but I always played hard. This was not random; this came from my dad, making me play in fifth grade and getting my tail kicked by eighth graders every day in practice. I had never played tackle football before, and I didn’t have the luxury of playing kids that were my age and size. That experience made me the player and the person I am today, and hopefully can be in the future. I want to be someone who is mentally tough, ready for the challenges and adversity the world throws at me. And that would mean playing against teams that were oftentimes a lot bigger and better than us and had high schools. We didn’t win a lot of games, and it would’ve been easy to quit, but tough people don’t quit. By quitting, I don’t mean leaving the team, I mean being scared and not doing my very best each and every play. When things got hard or scary for me as a fifth grader, my dad didn't run and try to help me like other parents might have. While I sometimes wanted his help, he pushed me back on the football field. 
  
  

  In the Maclay game during 7th grade, I hurt my hamstring on a long run, as a result, I was playing hurt for the rest of the second half. My mom texted my dad in the middle of the game and told him to take me out because she could see that I was in pain. I didn’t want to come out, and I knew my dad wouldn’t take me out anyway

   
  Because my dad made me play injured, I was able to help my team beat Maclay for the first time ever, by intercepting their quarterback. My dad wanted me to have toughness and keep going even when things were hard. 
  
  I ultimately want my toughness to come from my faith. To do that, I try to ask myself these questions: What am I scared of right now? Why am I scared of it? What hard things am I afraid to try? And then I pray that the Lord will give me the strength I need to not be afraid. Psalm 28:7 says: “The Lord is my strength and my shield.” If I believe that the Lord is my strength, that means that my strength is not of my own. My strength comes from God. There are times that I think I can handle the challenge by myself. That doesn’t always work out well for me. But if the Lord is my strength and my shield, protecting me from adversity, even in the hardest times of my life, I will be strong. This, I believe.