Spending day two in Wadowice was an experience I didn't think I was going to have. We spent the day learning about Karol Wojtyly's, who later became Pope John Paul II. Seeing where he grew up, how he lived, and where he went to school just goes to show that he was just a normal kid. After he lost both his mother and his brother, his father had said to him, while looking at a picture of the Virgin Mary, and said "From now, she will be your mother" and with this Karol dedicated his life to the Roman Catholic Church. It is inspiring to me how much of an influence a parent can have on their child, even without knowing it. "Times flies, eternity dwells" is a quote Pope John Paul II would see every morning on the clock on the church that was right outside his kitchen window. This stuck out to me because of how true it is. It feels like yesterday I was paying for my plane ticket to come to Poland and now I am here on my second night reflecting on my trip so far. With this being said, there are still six more days of this trip.
Tomorrow we are going to Auschwitz one and I am very nervous. Being an already emotional person I know tomorrow is going to be difficult for me. Learning about the Holocaust in high school was always a topic of interest but tomorrow everything is going to become real. I've definitely learned more about the Holocaust from this class but still nothing as to what is to be experienced there tomorrow.
Today I read a quote by Pope John Paul II that said "Do not be afraid, open wide the doors for Christ." This quote stood out to me to show that I shouldn't be nervous and afraid about going to Auschwitz tomorrow because there are so many people to lean on and it will all be okay. Tomorrow will be about experiencing, and trying to wrap my mind around the events that took place at this awful time. Tomorrow is going to be a learning experience, like no other, that everyone should get the chance to learn from.
-Patricia Keating
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