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Moises C. Garcia Zapoteco Maxine Patroni Explository Writing16, September 2013 Breaking away from traditions I do not like church but not because I'm an Atheist or despise religion, I grew up centered around the Baptist Church; we worshiped every Sunday, read the bible constantly, and preached the word of God My family and I handled pamphlets on the streets to save souls; There was a camaraderie formed by Sunday meals between brothers and sisters of Christ. The church used to be a place where morals and integrity were embedded into my mind and heart. During childhood I was an enthusiastic little boy aspiring to become a preacher. That, however changed, when Bible teachings did not coincide with my innate fascination for science, I made new school friends, and found a love-- beautiful girl that changed my view of religion Every Sunday I would wake up early and impatiently wait for the blow of the Bus horn. I rushed out the door ready to arrive at Sunday school without even waving goodbye to my mom. The beautiful Hymns echoed through the whole building, the firm and steady voice of the preacher, Salvador Ramos drew tears in the congregation. I listened to every word and fell in love with the atmosphere. I grew attach to the church that soon my mother join and my reluctant brother followed. My mother saw it as her a duty to give great examples to her children, in her opinion and church was the best one. My family became involved in all the services, not just Sundays. I felt like my life revolved around church and wanted to experience something different because it was hard to live a restrictive life and the tedious routine. My mother disagree yet I did not care at her.

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Who doesn't want to make new friends? Friends are a powerful influence in our lives and I wanted to fit in with the crow and be popular like the rest. Going to Concord middle school, I couldnt wait to showcase my well improved English but as I got better, I talked more about sports, girls, scientific wonders and less about my Christian faith, I found friends through soccer my found passion and it seemed rare to go to church on Sundays when I would rather be playing with my Friends through soccer and not worry about salvation or damantion. Hanging out with the guys made me forget time just focuses on the adrenaline rushing my body playing a competitive match. During the matches all the shallowness of money, quarrels between each other faded and just focus on the beautiful game. They became my new family, a close bond of brothers. Rarely did anyone talk about religionmost didnt care and I soon placed it behind. Science caught my interest they had less words and more pictures. I had a natural intuition to question, and curious mind to learn. Concord High School Science classes fascinated excelling in most of them particularly Biology a whole year I had learned a new view of life that dealt with cells, plants, and humans beings. I asked myself, Did God really created the whole Universe in seven days when the Bing Bang Cleary showed it took Billions of years to expand? Are human primitive animals descendants from Apes through Natural Selection when the Bible States God created us in His image? I grew conflicted with these issues and threw away the Bible teachings to embrace a modern approach of thinking yet even though my teacher was a Christian. Yuliana, we grew together since Coltrane Webb elementary school until she became my best friend through the countless hours spend together and talking about a future like we had a clue. A quiet girl with a radiant smile and ostentatious personality, she lit up the room with her presencedanced spontaneously without a care if someone was watching. Her catholic values

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contradicted my Christian religious beliefs--I did not care. To her, tradition meant partying every weekend and asking God for forgiveness Sunday morning. I got caught up the cycle of partying and loose view of the world. She would say God wants us to have fun and enjoy life not be sad. Through the years I grew attached to her, warm presence and lovely personality. One unexpected day I painfully had to admit I had fallen in love with Yuliana. Afraid she was not going to respond the way I remained her guy friend but I wanted things to be different. A cold Wednesday afternoon I grew enough courage to tell her, only to find out she had moved away from home with her girlfriend. She said in sad tone, Moy, we are just friends, it meant nothing She admitted she was gay and had fallen in love with someone she met at a club. It crushed me completely. I thought I knew her so well yet I accepted her choice and moved on with my wounded heart. As far science goes, it cannot explain all. It must also rely on faith, the belief on the possibility for a rational explanationfrom the hidden Universe, Evolution and the human mind. I consider myself a hybrid made of both the traditional Christian values and progress towards innovation. When it comes to family, I forget all. My mother remains a faithful Church believer; I respect her advice and move on. Im not longer trying to impress anybody; I accept myself just the way I am. Occasionally, I return to the Baptist Church, a place more of tradition than conviction a shelter from love sickness. For me it is not a place of worship rather a remembrance of my childhood memories