El Hogar and Técnico Santa María: A Transformative Journey in My Life
November 11, 2024By Ariel Varela, 12th Grade Student
When I arrived at the Institute in 2019, I was just 13 years old. I didn’t know what I was facing and like every boy at that age I was nervous about the new things that would come.
I was a residential student that year and it was a big change I had to adapt to, living away from home. I had a positive experience from the start, I felt at home right away. There was so much familiarity, so much trust in our teachers and caregivers that it made the idea of being away from home and away from my family less daunting. I met a new family, a family full of very special people. I met my best friend, and with the passage of time at the Institute it brought us closer together; I consider him a brother.
I’d like to talk about every detail of what went on since that day I walked through the door of the institute… but I would never finish and I would fill a thousand pages with every experience I lived.
I am currently a student in the external program; I travel daily to the Institute. I am in my final year (Grade 12) and the last thing I want is to leave the Institute. To leave my family. To leave this great community that, personally, has transformed my life forever. The days are getting shorter, and nostalgia sets in, however, my heart fills with joy knowing that I have left an indelible mark on this place and in the same way El Hogar has left an indelible mark on my life, both professionally, at work and spiritually.
If there is something that I do not want to leave out and that I will always say is that I found the perfect place to be. I am Episcopalian, and one thing about me is that I love going to church. The spiritual formation that the Institute offers is invaluable. It is the perfect place because it is linked to the church and that is important to me.
When I came to El Hogar through the Institute, I realized that what I would like to do after graduating is to teach, to be a teacher and to be in front of students imparting knowledge. I fell in love with reading and my favorite subject was always Spanish, so there is no doubt that this would be my area of focus for university studies. My Spanish teacher planted in me a love for literature, Spanish and all areas of communication.
On the other hand, I always felt a calling, a call to serve God. That is when I became confused and did not know what to do, many teachers at the institute suggested that I could be a priest because of my dedication, my interest and above all my availability in the weekly prayer services. They considered that I worked closely with the church and that I attended religious events.
I was in a vocational crisis; I didn’t know which path to choose… I was always interested in working in the social part and with people under my care…
But God already knew it before, my vocation is both: I want to be a teacher, and I am currently studying in the diocesan theological education program of the Honduran Episcopal Church.
As I have mentioned, it has been a great satisfaction that El Hogar projects are linked to the church to which I belong, that is why it makes me feel like I am in a family and in a community and I wish to one day be part of the greater team.
I can only thank El Hogar, my Home. ❤️
To watch a “Day in the Life of Ariel”, click HERE!
