By Ray Cardello for July 21, 2023, Season 20 / Post 48

I had the opportunity to interview a remarkable young woman this week. I asked for this interview because I was intrigued to have heard her story from a mutual friend. This individual is wise beyond her years, a deep thinker, and incredibly rooted in her strong faith. She had a tremendous story to relay to me, but it was just a preface as her story is still being written. After our session, I am confident this woman has great days ahead. I am not going to divulge her name as it is not necessary. I will refer to her as Miss L. Her story stands for itself, and I am impressed with her confidence and eloquence in her storytelling.

I want to focus on her days in High School and College, but one instance early in her life prepared her for what was to come. She was six years old and, along with her siblings, was raised in a very religious and spiritual family. She remembered the day vividly. It was a typical Sunday, and the family had spent the morning at services. She was She was with her family as her Father was teaching the message of the day’s gospel, when she felt the Spirit of God enter and consume her young body. Though just a child, she was ready to embrace the spirit and give her life to Jesus Christ. The experience gave her an inner peace and strength she would need to call on soon. She was only six but knew precisely what was transpiring.

Her first challenge was at the Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine. Casco Bay is an alternative school in the Portland public school system with a minimal class size of about one hundred per grade. Admittance is via a lottery system or legacy if an older sibling had previously attended the school. That was the case with Miss L. Casco was known to focus on the community and prepare students to be solid contributors. Miss L was unprepared for the school’s focus on DEI, CRT, BLM, Religion, and evolution. The school had an understanding faculty, and though a very diverse group of students, these classmates applied the peer pressure that made the high school experience challenging for Miss L. The peer pressure took the form of exclusivity and contentious pointed arguments directed at Miss L during class debates. Topics that were especially uncomfortable involved Christianity, Abortion, Transgender Issues, LGBTQ, and crimes against Indigenous Tribes. Part of the weekly curriculum were sessions called Courageous Conversations, where students were urged to discuss their feelings on topics such as White Privilege, Sexual Consent, Women’s Reproductive Health Issues, and BLM. There was certainly more focus on the student’s role in the community than on education basics. Miss L was fortunate to fast-track and finish her high school term in three years. She was only 16 when she graduated but was ready to move on. The peer pressure had taken its toll on the foundation of Miss L’s beliefs, and she exited high school questioning her core.

She chose to attend the University of Southern Maine in Portland, which allowed her to commute and live at home, saving significant money. This time in her life was extremely challenging. She had suffered what she called “church and home hurt.” She felt that two of the pillars that supported her had crumbled. And she continued to question her religious and political beliefs. She found herself changing her fundamental views on core issues like the viability of fetal life, same-sex marriage, and transgender rights. She even began to rethink the origin and greatness of America. The negativity of Social Media also played a part in the evolution of Miss L’s thinking and life. The pressures of high school, college, and Social Media had brought Miss L to a fork in the road of her life.

She could have been satisfied with her new thinking, but some positive changes happened simultaneously. Miss L again took the fast lane and graduated from USM in three years at the young age of 19. She was now living on her own and was fortunate to find a church that reinforced the beliefs of her younger years. Her inner strength took hold, and Miss L was able to get herself back to a comfortable place of inner peace. She was no longer compromising herself because of intense peer pressure.

Other than Miss L’s pace through these phases of her life, this story could have been about thousands of students yearly. This is the impact of the indoctrination of our children by the education system. Most students do not have the benefits of her maturity, solid core beliefs, and, most importantly, her strong bond with Christ. These components of Miss L’s makeup allowed her to pull her life together. This is a story of individual strength and intense spiritual belief overcoming the trauma of peer and social pressure. It is the story of survival and victory. This story shows the importance of a strong foundation built early in one’s life and the importance of spirituality in overcoming the tremendous pressures put on our youth by the very institutions that are charged with educating them and preparing them to be productive citizens.

I thank Miss L for letting me into her world and hearing her story, and I look forward to seeing what she does with her life. I wish her the best of luck, but with God in her corner, she may not need luck.