It is a truth universally acknowledged that in every generation, there are many young adults growing up Catholic or learning about the Catholic Church. I am one of these young adults. I grew up a cradle Catholic and I have no regrets about my childhood, but the way my faith grew was very similar to a bamboo plant, which takes five years before it sprouts up from the ground. Catholic School planted the seeds of my faith, but it... Read more
My Voice: A Poem When I was a child, my voice sang songs of wanderlust Wanting to go into other worlds and have adventures Then life took an unexpected turn And I found adventure on a West Coast dust bowl My voice began telling stories and longing for love Love found me, but fled just as quickly As I journeyed onward to a land of cowboys and football Where my voice relished in expressing itself Singing along to music made... Read more
Yesterday, I went with my family to see Into the Woods. I’m a big fan of musicals in general and I was really looking forward to it. What makes Into the Woods unique is that it starts out with the fairy tales that everyone knows and then turns them all on their heads. The film follows the spirit of the original musical, if not the letter of it. Spoilers will probably ensue, so proceed with caution. With that, I’ll talk about the characters.... Read more
As I look back on the previous year, the best way I can describe 2014 was that it was the year that I found my voice. When I finished college, I found myself feeling very lost. For most of my life, my dream was to go to college, but once the whole college experience ended, I found myself without any job offers and most of my friends were getting engaged or married or having children. It didn’t help that I... Read more
November was a month that I really appreciated the friends I had. Back when I was younger, I always had this idea that in high school and college, I would have friends that I could hang out with all the time. Then, when I was about to finish college, I learned that real friendships, just like romantic relationships, need boundaries in order to stay healthy. It wasn’t until I reached out of my comfort zone (and the internet) and started... Read more
The month of October usually consisted of 2 things: 1) Prepping for Halloween and 2) watching lots of scary movies. But this year, Taylor Swift took over with the premiere of her latest album, 1989. I already went into detail about how I obsessed over Taylor Swift ever since her first album came out. And lately, it seems like each song from 1989 has been applying to things I’m experiencing now or plan to do in the future. Today, I wrote... Read more
The first half of September was spent getting ready for the young adult retreat, Bayou Awakening. I was part of a more behind-the-scenes staff, but I also gave my first retreat talk. It’s hard to believe that in 2013, I went to Bayou as a retreat attendant and now I devote my time as a staff member. Something I learned was that even before I even thought about going to Bayou, there were people praying for me. Some of my... Read more
When I went to Mass today, the priest’s homily talked about the origin stories of superheroes in relation to today’s Gospel. He noted that no matter how often superhero movies come out, they always start out by telling the origin story of the hero even though most people in the audience already know it. He said that “In order to understand the hero we see, we have to know where he comes from.” This statement applies to today’s gospel because it’s... Read more
One new thing that came to my life in 2014 was this beautiful desk. Because my brother was moving to an unfurnished apartment, the desk I’ve been using for the longest time was passed to him. That meant buying a new desk for me. I love the color of this desk and that its simple design turned out to be the most efficient. I would add more things to this desk later on. But what I love most about this... Read more
Today is Pope Francis’s birthday. And something people forget about birthdays is that it’s not only the day you were born, but more often than not the day when you are given a name. I have been known by many names in my life. I was born Ann Mary Monique Sandil Ocampo. Later on, I insisted on being called by my middle name so I wouldn’t be addressed as “Mary Ann.” In high school, I was called “Mi-chan” by my best friend,... Read more
Monique Ocampo Writes
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