Talking to Tenth Graders

I wrote so much about how I was dreading my Mary talk to the Confirmation group I thought I needed to process how it went.

For me, it was NO fun to stand in front of 70 tenth graders and talk about Mary. And I can't think of a topic that would make it any better. Later, our future youth minister, who was there to introduce himself, pointed out that it was a "hard room". Half of the kids were facing away from me as they were seated around tables. Therefore, they were whispering to friends and/or texting periodically. Sheesh. I'm glad he plans to change that. Knowing him, he will make many other great changes as well. Even so, I don't think I'm good at talking to teenagers.

There was a positive part. After the talk, I got to join one of the small groups to discuss a few questions. That was WAY more "up my alley" and fun. Sitting face to face and talking more individually was thrilling. I enjoyed seeing their personalities and hearing their thoughts and issues.

Now that this talk is done, I have felt VERY relaxed. For the past few weeks, I've only been reading about Mary. Any question you might have on Catholic teaching about Mary, I'm your woman! (As long as you're not a tenth grader.) And now I can move on to a different book. I have Life of Pi waiting. Maybe tonight I'll pick it up. Or maybe I'll just let my brain take a rest.