"I don't understand. You are going to quit playing golf?! It has been our life long passion since we were seven years old!  I had been having this argument with my good friend, Chris, for a few days now. "I know it has, but with work and my new girlfriend I just don't think I'll have time.  This is a conversation I had been warned about growing up and had seen in movies a countless times, but never thought it would become a reality for Chris and I. Here we are freshman year of high school, with one of the first signs of adversity we have ever faced and I am already watching my friend give up his dream. The impetuosity in his actions, to abandon something he had worked so hard on growing up, made me second guess my own future and the decisions I should be making while entering the new realm of high school. But hesitation lasted only for a second. Almost instinctively, I was able to pacify my anxiety with the tools that had been instilled in me through the Lutheran tradition and their teachings. The strengths I possessed and my willingness to use them truly convinced me I could overcome any challenge. Like having a set of super natural powers to use at my disposal, the beliefs and morals that had been engraved into my being while growing up became applicable for the first time in my life in a truly tangible sense. I knew that I could suppress fear spawn from natural insecurities and re channel the energy to direct myself down the correct path. As a child I was fortunate enough to attend a private Lutheran school from preschool until eighth grade. It was here that I was introduced to a system of beliefs and a guiding set of principals on which I could firmly stand, confidently move forward with, and easily look back to reference. I had been taught to always put others before myself, to consistently reflect on what is happening in the world around me, and in times of change and difficulty I must always stay true to my roots. In an ever-complicated world filled with so many rivers to follow and branching tributaries to distract us, the traditions I have learned throughout my life provide an easy means to keep my ship steady on a