My vocation story is longer than most. It started with this deep fascination I had with the hierarchy of the Church, the archbishops, cardinals, etc. That was when I was very yong. I had no real conception of what the priesthood was about. The year before high school things changed. A young priest at the parish had caused me to have an interest in the priesthood. I wanted to become a priest, but it was for terrible political reasons. As time went on, I actually began to love the faith. I started faithfully attending Mass. I was inspired by a Sister, who everyone thought was too strict, to go to Mass daily and become closer to God. At the same time I was working with another Sister, working with underpriviledged youth and holding collections for the poor, etc. As time went on I lost the urge for the priesthood because I got involved with this girl. After going without speaking to her for a long time and realizing that my hope was over I was REALLY bad. I was doing things that were ludacris. I became an atheist to justify my actions. I wasn t actually an atheist. Anyway, I was feeling called back to the Church. So I would go to Confession, where I found my spiritual director. However, I would always fall into my same atheistic ways. I decided that the only protection from sin was through isolationism, which I was wrong. I realized that God wasn t calling me to the priesthood, but to the Brotherhood. I realized this after having a strong desire to become a monk, but eventually losing that because I realized I am way too talkative, hence the reason for this enormously large reply. **I found that spiritual purification came not so much from self-discipline, but from the loss of self to the service of others. **Now, I live a life of structure with time for prayer, work, and penance. I have come to a conclusion that I am called to work with women, because of my relationship with my mother. I have also come to conclusion that I was meant to engage in service to young children because of past relationships with them. So, that is pretty much in an extremely LARGE nutshell.