It was like any other day at school. I was in study hall and, having no homework, I just felt like reading my Bible. The teacher didn’t look too happy about it, but I didn’t think anything of it. The next thing I know, I was called to the office by the principal. When I got to his office, he told me I shouldn’t bring that kind of "stuff" to school. No explanation on why or anything!

Most of us have grown up in Seventh-day Adventist schools and around people with the same religion and beliefs. I think many of us have gotten to be so comfortable and used to our surroundings that we don’t take time to appreciate the fact that we can go to a school in a good environment and be able to have classes where it is okay to pray or even read your Bible.

I have not always attended a Seventh-day Adventist school. I have always moved around; in fact, I’ve been to a total of about twelve different public schools. In some of the schools I’ve gone to, I constantly worried if someone would beat me up, put me down for what I believed, or leave me out for not doing the "normal" things like going to parties after sundown on Friday or on Sabbath.

Although it seemed like I would have a lot of faith to take rejection from my classmates for my religion, it's not something I did on my own. I saw the difference in kids my age at Seventh-day Adventist schools and how they seemed to be more accepting. I just wondered, what’s so different in what they have and what I don’t? It’s God, and being in a place where they teach you about Him and everything He has done and will do for us.

I now go to a very good Seventh-day Adventist school, Battle Creek Academy. I feel accepted and I’m not afraid to read my Bible or pray. But I sometimes notice that praying has just become something we do in every class. So I challenge everyone, including myself, not just to pray at the beginning of every class or when we need or want something from God. We need to see prayer as a chance to talk with our Creator and thank Him for everything He has done for us.

Katrina Whitaker is a junior at Battle Creek Academy.