Growing up and having one mindset over certain things makes the person narrow minded. However if the person is willing to see certain things and able to understand without taking it seriously can cause questions to form. Just like religion having various interpretations to many people.
I had always known my race wasn’t the only one in the world. I knew there were people around the world but never did I think they would have different customs. I was in second grade when I took my first trip to Mexico. My family thought it would be a great experience for my two brothers and me to travel with them to meet the country for the first time. My parents planned this trip precisely to prevent any problems and have a smooth ride. When we arrived at the bus station, my uncle voluntarily picked us up. Going down the neighborhoods, I noticed the houses were a vibrant color, they never looked the same and were never the same color. When the scenery of the neighborhoods ended, the fields were next and they were a bright green and stretched for miles. Occasionally there would be a few cows here and there as well some sheep going up a slop. Stores would pop up around a corner technically in the middle of nowhere, but nevertheless people would stand outside casually leaning against the wall leaning sipping on their bottle of coke. Although the drive only took 30 minutes from the bus station to my grandma’s house, it still felt like an eternity to reach it. We finally reached a pale green gate about the size of a small horse, on the sides of the the gate were barbed wire fences about the same height. We entered and behind layed a narrow path enough to fit a truck through. As we went along the path, there was neighborhood inside, about six houses, and was surrounded by lots of land. We went deeper into the path until we came across a brightly green colored house outlined with orange. My grandmother stepped out of the house. She was a petite women and had a hunchback. That day I meet all of my aunts and uncles, there was a bunch of them. It took me at least two weeks to remember everyone since they would visit every once in awhile.
After three weeks, my aunt had asked me to go to town with her. Of course I said yes! This was the first time since arriving that I would get to venture out of the house. We walked to the bus station which took a while. Along the way, I saw many houses with different colors and different plants scattered across their lawn. Everything was beautiful! We finally reached the station and were just waiting for the bus. The station was on a hill with dry dust flying everywhere and a store far off into the horizon. Why was everything so far away and in these conditions? The bus arrived and we went aboard. The ride was smooth, but again we passed by neighborhoods with brightly colored houses and beyond that, lands of nothing. San Pancho, was the name of the town when we arrived. The atmosphere of the place was indescribable. It was lovely, it was fresh, it was energetic and it was full of people. I had never seen anything like it. The town was rich in a foreign culture and was deeply religious. A cathedral was adorned in the middle of the town. Around the corner, little stands scattered on the outskirts of the supermarket. The supermarket was huge, inside were more stands, after wandering around I’ve concluded it was a maze. After that day, I was sure that never in my life had I’ve been so tired. Sunday had rolled around and I was still tired from the previous day. It was time to go to church and I told my parents I didn’t want to go in front of my grandmother. I can assure you, I saw her eyes turn white and almost had a heart attack. From that day on, I went to church without a complaint. I realized religion meant a whole lot to her and she would always tell me there was only one God. She likes to think the bright colors of houses represent the hope religion gives them and how lovely the families still are. I had started to see what she meant. The colors were everywhere because there was hope, at least according to her.
It was fall now and the Day of the Dead was upon us and everyone celebrated. Again, the colors were bright, except this time black was the color that stole the show. Religious symbols were everywhere and breathtaking they were. Dances filled the night, food was provided and black was to be worn with bright colors. This is the first time I’ve seen people come close together to celebrate the dead instead of mourning for loved ones, they celebrate because they know God had taken them away for a reason. They know the dead are in a much better place and it’s the only day they feel more connected to them. After that day, I realized religion was a crucial part to the everyday life in Mexico.
After the trip, I had to go back to America to finish my education from where I left off. Even though I was born in this country, I still had a culture shock when I settled in Texas. Going to school was just like I remembered except it was more culturally diverse than I had remembered. There were a couple kids from all over the world and for some reason i thought they were catholic. I had made this assumption were everyone was catholic, so upon knowing their religion it would shock me. This was most likely due to the fact that  I was constantly surrounded by this religion in Mexico. When high school arrived, I realized catholicism wasn’t as big as it was in Mexico. I was always taught the religion, I breathed it and I slept on it. This has caused me to only be enclosed to one mindset even though I was always an open minded person. History classes had opened my mind everytime religion of ancient countries had popped up. I began to think; different people around the world have their own customs and religions. They believe their way of living was the “right way” to achieve a good afterlife. Many believe they are following the right path and everyone else is just misguided. High school was the point were the realization hit the hardest. I looked into each religion to see their beliefs and to get to know more about it. All this research made me question if there really was a correct religion in the world that will lead a real afterlife. I began to lessen my hold on my faith and began to see that people’s religion gives them hope.
For the first time, I had questioned my religion. Even though my grandmother had drilled into me that catholicism was the true religion, I had begun to realize that catholicism maybe wasn’t the “right way” to follow because if it was, then everyone would follow it. Clearly it may not be because everyone thinks their religion is the pure one. No one has the same mindset and I haven’t doubt my religion but I have questioned if it’s the “correct” religion.