Confessions of a high school Buddhist: Not ready for enlightenment

Taylor du Pont
Multimedia Editor

Over the past few years, I have struggled to accept a religion into my life. I was brought up in a Congregational family, but as the years of my childhood flew by, I began to question my Christian faith. After my best friend was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor when I was in seventh grade, my skeptical religious views turned into agnosticism. When I was a sophomore in high school, she died, and I became a pessimist, turning to atheism.

When I told my friends that I was going to convert to Buddhism, most of them thought that I had jumped off the deep end. I was tired of living my life like a zombie: emotionless and hopeless. I needed something to hold onto. I needed to make a difference in the world around me and be a part of something that was bigger than myself. In the beginning of June last year, without any warning, I started taking my first steps towards becoming a self converted Buddhist.

App of the Week: Clash of Clans

Doodle Jump. Cut the Rope. Tiny Wings. These are just some of the many memorable titles in the iOS app Hall of Fame, but none have been taken up with such passion and enthusiasm at our school as Clash of Clans. This sprawling virtual kingdom of castles, dragons, elixirs and orcs has taken the high school by storm, claiming a tight-knit coalition of players around the school who join together in small groups to battle as a clan.