Personal Narrative: How Religion Has Changed My Life

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Manytimes one hears the words “and it changed my life forever,” or something to that effect; these words seem to be a bit overused and may have lost their meaning for some. So when I heard them from Jon, I must admit that even though he is a friend, I was a bit dubious.

Jon claimed that at the age of about thirteen a major change occurred for him. This change dealt with the religion Jon was born into, Judaism. This was the faith that his parents turned to at the age of twenty andbrought into the family after there had been no religious beliefs in the familylineage for quite a while, the religion in which his mother was Orthodox andhis father a rabbi.

This change began the morning Jon woke uplate, on purpose; cut off his waist-length red-orange payots, thetresses of hair behind the ears that unmistakably distinguish Orthodox maleJews from all other males; and went into the main hall of the religious dorm,in Israel, where his Jewish Orthodox …show more content…

He went from staying at one person’s place to another, from little oddjobs to little odd jobs while finishing high school. Overall, Jon stayed with hisfather while contact with his mother and brothers dwindled.

In November 1997Jon was drafted into the Israeli military. He mentioned this as another turning point in his life, something thatlet him continue on the “good” path of life. Jon was a superb soldier, excellent enough to be among the top tenduring training. He later became a 1stSgt., eventually leading his own group of boys through basic training. He was also awarded two medals of heroism,both for rescuing people under fire. After his mandatory three years, Jon was personally asked to stay anextra year, which he

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