When I taught 2nd year High School Christology, I used to ask my students to write a reflection paper every week. The process of reading an article and writing about it was very helpful to me when I was a student myself and so I felt that it would help my students as well.

At first they were all shocked that they were supposed to write a page of essay every week (they were just not used to it), but after a while, many of them really loved it. Some of them would even write three to five pages and tell me afterwards that they thoroughly enjoyed writing about the topic for the week before asking me about the new topic so they could start writing about it. Some of my former students actually sent me emails asking if I still have articles they could read.

As much as it was a joy for the students to write the essays, it was also a joy to read their essays. I thoroughly enjoyed reading what they had to say about the topic for the week and needless to say, I learned a lot in the process.

Here are some excerpts of the things they wrote in class. Remember, these are 2nd year high school students, so they’d be around 14-15 years old at the time they wrote these. They might not understand love in the way we “oldies” understand it, but they have their own grasp of it which not only makes it cute but makes it true as well. And by the way, one of the greatest love stories ever told–Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet– had the two main characters at about the same age my students wrote these essays. So maybe love is really for the young and the young at heart.

From the mouth of babes…

On PREMARITAL SEX:

“Sex before marriage is like sucking on chocolate syrup for hours… it may taste like heaven, but after a moment… you’ll be having one hell of a tonsillitis!”

“Sex should not be done before marriage because sex is for procreation, and frankly, I’m not ready for any procreating right now!”

On LETTING GO:

Letting go isn’t about forgetting, nor ignoring. It doesn’t leave feelings of anger, jealousy or regret. Letting go is definitely not about winning or losing. It’s not about pride and how you appear to other people, and it’s not about obsessing or dwelling about the past.

Letting go isn’t blocking memories nor thinking sad thoughts, and doesn’t leave emptiness, hurt nor sadness. It’s not giving in nor giving up. Letting go is not about loss or defeat…

To let go is to cherish memories, but to overcome and to move on. It is having an open mind and confidence with the future. Letting go is accepting, learning, experiencing and growing. To let go is to be thankful for the experiences that made me laugh, cry and grow. It’s about all that I have, all that I had, and all that I will soon gain. Letting go is having the courage to accept change, and the strength to keep moving. To let go is to open a door, clear a path and set myself free.
- Leslie Leyson, she’s now President of the Sacred Heart School-Jesuit Student Council

On LOVE:

“I came to realize what it is in love that makes it so painful and yet rewarding: it’s the lessons learned, the experiences shared, and the hope that someday a love without GOODBYE will come our way…”
- Joan Villaflores, her essays were always good reads and comes from a wealth of experience that belies her young age.

And my personal favorite:

“We should not worry about being loved more than we can return; instead, we should be afraid of not giving back the love that we can give. Love does not need to be equal to be fair; it only needs to be true…”
- Selina Ong, it took awhile before she got the hang of writing, but when she got in a groove in the latter part of the schoolyear, her essays became simply beautiful.

More of my students’ work in future posts. Remind me to tell you about this guy who almost got 100 in class.

In the meantime, keep walking…

1. Don’t Believe Your Report Card
2. Dear Parents