Pilgrimages of life-- end of course reflection

One of the things I have learned/realized in this class is that it can be difficult to find time for reflection in one's daily life. Between studying, college applications, homework, AP classes,and trying to have a social life somewhere in between, it is hard to not only relax but also reflect. Often times, it gets thrown to the wayside because at the end of the day we're too busy or too tired to do anything else. However, reflection can be refreshing and it should not always be pushed to the back burner. It may be difficult to just sit down in a quiet space and think and listen to one's self but it is a good excercise to quiet your mind. This lesson relates directly to an experience in my own life with my yoga practice. For school, I had to fulfill an independent gym requirement so I decided to take yoga classes. At every class I had to get my instructor to sign off on a sheet. I had to take a certain number of hours to fulfill my requirement. At first, going to yoga seemed like a hassle-- although I enjoyed the class every Sunday night, it was the getting off my butt and leaving my warm cozy house to drive there that made it seem like such an effort. It was difficult to clear my mind during shavasana (guided meditation) and just relax. However, after a while of going every week I started to make progress with relaxation. Now, going to yoga is an activity that I look forward to every week and I love having a refuge where I can forget about all my obligations for a while and just listen to myself. Luckily, this course was also a safe haven during my school day. When I was inundated with work, I loved coming to this class and knowing it would be relaxing and not stressful. In addition to this general life principle, I learned many specific facts in this class. For example, we learned about defense mechanisms, and how they can be a barrier to healthy social (and spiritual) interactions. We learned about the different types of intimacy and all the work that goes into sustaining a happy marriage. We researched our own families' love stories and shared them with each other. We discussed the four Greek words for different types of love. In addition, we learned about the hot-button sexuality issues such as abortion, birth control, and same-sex marriage, and learned the Catholic Church's and other religions' views on the subjects.