When I began working with the Mission Generation textbooks I started realizing we have to appreciate and love others just as ourselves. How can I learn to appreciate and love other when I don’t love or appreciate myself, the person I know best in the world? This equation has made me value the importance of friendship; good friends are together during good and bad times. Friendship is especially important to me because I live with my aunt and I almost never see her. Her work hours start right before I get home from school and she’s asleep when I leave in the morning, after she worked through the night.
The content of the books has caused a positive impact in my life because I have learned things I had never heard before. I will apply them in my daily life so that I become a successful man. I want to suggest to my fellow classmates to build a community around them with people who value a lifestyle and morals similar to theirs. My community has saved me from making many bad decisions and are always there when I feel alone.
–Iván Choque Arcos (age 18)
Translated from Spanish
