Kairos by Trevor

Kairos by Trevor - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

Kairos: the right time, a special time of opportunity. This is the name and meaning behind my school's most popular retreat. My school is Boston College High School, a Jesuit school in Boston. Here, there is an emphasis on personal growth in the entire person. The Kairos retreat is the ultimate experience of personal growth and understanding. It is the right time to feel the love of God, and those all around us. This retreat emphasizes companionship and recognizing God in our lives. It is a primarily Christian retreat that is open to all faiths. The retreat consists of four days in Creigville, Cape Cod. There are many talks given, and a lot of small group time. On this retreat, many kids open up about many difficult things in their life and seek guidance. The emotions are high and many tears are shed throughout the retreat. After four days, we all come back with a greater understanding of ourselves and this world we live in.
There are about four of these retreats every year, and about 50 kids go on each one. Last year I went on the retreat for the first time. It was such an incredible experience. I learned so much about myself and about God. I felt love like never before, and I learned many valuable life lessons. I have great friends that have come from the retreat. I went into the retreat feeling pretty good, and with a solid faith, so I wasn't as affected by the retreat as some others. However, I did find that watching the other kids find a faith that they had never had before gave me immense joy. From the day that I got back from the retreat, I dreamed of becoming a leader the next year.
Only 7 student leaders are chosen to lead each retreat, so the leadership teams are fairly selective. For the first Kairos of the 2016-2017 school year, I was selected to be on the student team. A Kairos leader must exhibit many qualities in order to make the retreat great. We must be respectful, understanding, caring, observant, and dedicated. Prepping for the retreat is a huge time commitment. We had meetings multiple times a week to go over group assignments and also to work on our student speeches. Each student gives a talk about themselves and their life journey. My talk was titled Seeking God, and I think it went really well. The essential message of it was that we all have visions of ourselves that are unrealistic. God doesn't love this unrealistic ideal of ourselves, He simply loves us as we are. It's our job to pursue our true selves. Once we have found the person that we are happy being, then we can express that person to everyone around us and do amazing things. Many kids came up to me and told me that they could relate strongly to my talk. To hear such compliments was incredibly moving for me. Overall, the retreat was fantastic, all of the kids opened up about their lives. One kid described the retreat as an emotional rollercoaster. The retreatants learned a lot about themselves, and those around them. Many new friendships were formed, and memories were made. It was a truly unforgettable experience. The ending ceremony, watching all of the kids sit together and give their final thought, is one of my proudest moments of high school. Leading this retreat is an accomplishment that I will forever treasure.