Here's hoping you started singing this in your head to the tune of the catchy (yet still annoying) “Barbie Girl” song.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying “grow where you are planted” many times over and not thought much about it; it’s one of those phrases that most of us hear multiple times growing up and usually let it go in one ear and out the other, but I think it holds some merit. I grew up in a Baptist church and was home schooled using a Baptist curriculum. I now attend (and hold leadership in) a Baptist campus ministry at a local university and even have an internship at a Baptist church about five minutes from my college. (So yes, to answer your question, I know what a good carry-in dinner looks like.) I even looked at attending a Baptist college at one point, but I ended up at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, which, you guessed it, is Catholic. Talk about a fish out of holy water.

During orientation, one of SMWC’s oldest traditions is to have an opening mass to welcome all the students to campus. Our founder, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, started the very first day of classes in 1840 this way and 176 years later, we still do this. It’s super cool that we get to still start the year the way the first class of Woods students did, but never having ever done anything Catholic before, I felt so lost. All the sitting and standing; do I kneel? What’s happening? Peace? Oh, hugs and handshakes. The priest is asking something. What do I say? Ah, there’s notes in the bulletin…wait, program. Not bulletin. Bulletins are a Baptist thing. Oh, we’re standing again. Communion? Communion. Okay, it’s over. Phew. Made it.

After that first mass, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do much else with the Catholic “side” of my school, because it was all so foreign and I was absolutely clueless about it all. I had grown up religious all my life, but none of this was familiar whatsoever. I was fairly confident with that decision, but then our campus minister asked me to be a part of the Thanksgiving mass/prayer service. I was skeptical since I wasn’t Catholic and pointed this out to her, but she said it was fine and she just thought I would enjoy being a part of the service. I agreed and I ended up loving it. A Sister of Providence was there and welcomed me in and everyone said they were glad I stepped out of my comfort zone to be a part of the service. I attended a few other programs Campus Ministry hosted and I loved them. I went to my first Ash Wednesday the next semester and learned so much — not just about the Catholic faith, either. It was a service that helped me view Easter in a new light which really made me understand that growing and learning is possible everywhere.

After that Ash Wednesday service my freshman year, I attended many other events and realized that even if I didn’t agree with everything, I could take a lot away from all of the traditions and heart behind them all. I learned that the saints were some absolutely amazing human beings who we can all learn from and that the Pope is someone I want for an uncle (I even follow him on Twitter). I learned that just because you may not agree with everything someone says, you can still use their words and thoughts to grow and better yourself in many ways. You can learn to understand the people around you in if only you are willing to sit back and actually listen to those who surround you. Hanging out with the nuns on my campus has given me some of my favorite memories so far of my college career. Attending mass has now become a refreshing way to start a holiday or a new school year, and I wouldn’t trade either of those things for the world.

So whether you’re a Baptist in a Catholic world, a cat lover in a dog world, or whatever your situation may be, take the time to learn about those around you and sincerely strive to listen, not just hear, their stories. You may walk away with things you never knew you needed.