Youth Speak Up!

The Search for a Perfect Baby by Mikela St. John

In biology last year, our class watched a movie called GATTACA. It dealt with a utopian society that genetically modified almost everyone and where a naturally conceived child was a rarity. The genetically imperfect were forced to work in the lowest levels of society. For most students this movie was... [Read more...]

How to Love Everyone by Sean Kerr

In today’s world it is becoming easier to distance ourselves from those we come into contact with. As society grows, as we get older, and even as technology improves, we find ourselves in contact with more and more people, leading to a subconscious necessity to dehumanize strangers. This saves... [Read more...]

The Meaning of Modesty by Rose Kelley, 16

The year I turned twelve, I experimented wearing skirts everyday, everywhere: Ice skating, biking, and even hiking to the top of Yosemite’s Half Dome. It started on a dare from a friend and then continued from there. I felt confident and daring, and the regular wearing of skirts attracted positive... [Read more...]

Seeing Life Through Death by Elizabeth Cabral, 16

Even though death happens, it does not overshadow life. Life and death, I have experienced. I have seen the faces of people who had just lost a child and just had a child. Both are times you never forget. Some people wonder what life is like with eight siblings. Being the sixth child of nine, I can tell... [Read more...]

Will the Pill Make Me Happy? by Lindsay Kerr, RPSGT

Recently, a study was done at the University of Copenhagen by Charlotte Wessel Skovlund, MSc et al looking at the correlation between depression and the use of hormonal contraceptives. The study itself took place in Denmark and spanned the course of thirteen years, looking at over one million women of... [Read more...]

Sacrifice by Natalie Eansor, 16

Should I sacrifice getting good grades in order to hang out with my friends? Should I sacrifice my relationship with God in order to sleep in and avoid Church at all costs? Should I sacrifice my religious beliefs in order to fit in? Should I? We are constantly sacrificing amazing things, to do the easier... [Read more...]

My Mom May Be Superwoman in Disguise: Reflections on a High School NFP Talk by Kalin Lippsmeyer

I wish learning about NFP was the cool thing to do. I wish young women knew about it and chose it over birth control like someone with a sweet tooth might reach for cinnamon toast crunch instead of grape nuts for breakfast. I wish it was the “norm” in our culture, or at least presented as an equal... [Read more...]

Destroying The Condom Culture by Fr. Joshua Sia

One of my little pleasures in my free time is reading random articles in the internet, particularly articles on well-known news websites such as The Huffington Post, The New York Times, or Business Insider. As one can imagine, there are a lot of different articles that you can read in these websites,... [Read more...]

Preparing for Marriage with NFP by Kira Creighton

Married couples should be able to enjoy the marriage bed any day, any time…or so I thought. As a practicing Catholic, I had heard about Natural Family Planning and while I agreed it was obviously better than contraception, like the pill or condoms, I had some reservations. Kira Creighton lives in Chico... [Read more...]

Growing Up with CANFP by Caitlin, 23

I am the youngest of six children, raised by NFP-using parents. Not only did they use NFP, but when I was very young my mom was involved in founding CANFP, so CANFP and I sort of “grew up together”. All children are affected by their parent’s career choices, but having a mom who has, as long as... [Read more...]