Being Stripped.

A couple of nights ago, I had the unique but awesome opportunity to Skype with two of my fellow missionaries (and sisters in Christ). Anna, who is a first year serving at Mizzou, and Lauren, who is a fellow Thunderbolt and first year serving at Pittsburgh. It was so great to catch up with them and to just take a deep breath and be able to laugh and just be with friends who fully understand first year missionary life.

As we were catching each other up on how team life is going, the amazing girls we get the privilege to work with and what is going on at our campuses, we all paused. We were all thinking the same thing, "So how is it really going?" Although all of the previous things we mentioned were true, we all knew there was more to be said. Then Lauren dropped a truth bomb. She said, "Some days I wonder what it would be like to have a normal job. To come home after you've put in your day's work and just check out on the couch. I wonder what it would be like to actually feel like I've accomplished something or to be able to check off one thing on my ten-page long to-do list.

But that's not what we signed up for. 

We signed up to be a part of a mission (or rather a Commission) that never ends. We signed up for a "job" that isn't a job, it is a life. We signed up to give up normality. We signed up to leave the comfort of our homes, a state we so dearly love and friends we've grown so close with to serve on a campus where we are literally no one. No one knows we were the president of this or that. No one knows we were homecoming royalty. No one knows who we dated or what sorority we were in and frankly, I don't think anyone really cares. Anything and everything we ever identified ourselves with that wasn't Our Lord Jesus Christ was stripped away from us the day we got the title "missionary for Christ."

Being a missionary means being stripped, similar to the way Christ was stripped during His Passion. Everything was taken away besides the very essence of His Being. We are being stripped of the comforts of the world. We are stripped of our identity in anything other than who we are at our core. We are stripped of all the ways we've ever thought the world could satisfy us--then we are left weak. Standing at the foot of the cross, at the foot altar, in front of the Eucharist crying out, "Lord, I can't do this anymore."

And that is exactly where He wants us. 

He's been waiting for you to just ask Him for His help all along. 

"For my power is made perfect in weakness." 

                                     2 Corinthians 12:9

He wants so badly to build us up into this incredible palace of His love. But usually it takes so long for us to get down on our knees and admit our weakness. Missionary life is not a normal one, that's for sure. Is it rewarding? You wouldn't even believe the small rewards I receive on a daily basis. Is it worth it? No doubt about it. We are all on this earth to become saints and help the people around us become saints. Every day we have the chance to take one step closer to sainthood. What are you doing today to become a saint? What are you doing to help the person next to you become a saint?

stay beautiful my friends. 

hms.

All who are thirsty.

Hello blog world!

I'm so excited to get to update you on the goings on in my life in Chambana (Champaign-Urbana) and share all the amazing ways God is and has been working in the past few months. Let's get started!

This summer I was so blessed to have gotten to spend the summer amongst 500 missionaries in Ave Maria, Florida. I had no idea what to expect even though I had heard about summer training from a multitude of missionaries before. Little did I know, it was going to be a grace-filled 5 weeks getting to grow in love with some absolutely incredible people who taught me something new about how Christ Himself loves us. Whether it was spending the day at the beach laughing, sitting in an auditorium sipping subpar coffee (that's an understatement), or smoking a cigar while talking about what true femininity and masculinity is with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I was amidst our generation of saints and martyrs this summer and I was so honored to be chosen to serve Christ and His Church with a team of soldiers who are so ready and willing to die for this mission. If that doesn't give you goosebumps then you're crazy.

On the fourth of July, I got to come home to my family for about a month and spend time with them before I left for my placement. It made me realize how grateful I am for my family and friends who will always be there to support me and love me in wherever it is that God calls me.

At the beginning of August, me and my parents packed up my jeep and the truck and headed east to Illinois. After 8 hours in the car, we arrived in Champaign-Urbana-- my new home. Little did I know how well I would adjust to the town. The University of Illinois covers two towns; Champaign is the more college-town-esque city that has an awesome downtown area comparable to the Railyard in Lincoln and Urbana (where I live) is the more hipster town that has an awesome farmer's market every Saturday and is filled with co-ops and beautiful parks.

This is me after the Farmer's market with cold press coffee, essential oils and a hand-painted card.

Before students moved in, we got to know the staff at St. John's Catholic Newman Center. There are four chaplains (Fr. Luke, Fr. Jim, Fr. Bill and Fr. Dan) and each of them brings a different personality and blessing to the church. Along with the four priests, we also have four sisters that work directly with the students and staff. I'm so blessed to have all of these men and women of God surrounding me and teaching me more about living the Catholic faith and living out my relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Move In day shenanigans with Fr. Bill and some RAs (doing the macarena)

Students finally came on August 15 and Fall Outreach was in full swing. Fall Outreach is basically just the first part of the semester where we hold events almost every day/weekend to meet students and form a relationship with them in order to lead them to a deeper relationship with Christ and encounter Him through our friendship and through bible study. It was so cool to see how the Holy Spirit was working through all of these encounters and leading us to people who we needed to meet.  God was definitely present and gave us the strength to persevere through our human exhaustion to be present with these students. 

The reason I titled this post "all who are thirsty" goes along with a bible verse that followed me around this summer--the Woman at the Well (John 4). At training, I was reflecting on this passage a lot and I'd like to share my reflections on it with you all. 

In short, this passage is about a woman who is going about her daily life (getting water from the well) and encounters Christ and in turn goes and tells her entire town about Him and many of them are converted. HOLY CRAP. It is so profound and I relate so much to this woman. Basically, she is just living her life--past wounds on her heart, her future in question, just doing what she knows how and what she needs to do. But Jesus "had to pass through Samaria" and he was there waiting for her even before she knew who He was. He asks her for a drink (one simple thing she could do for Him) and yet she questions Him. Her humanness is so apparent and so relatable. But she is longing to know who He is in a deeper way--she is coming to the well because she thirsts and she thought going to the well is what would quench that thirst. Jesus meets her where she is at, literally, and shows her that He desires to give her the Living Water. After this encounter, she can't help but drop her bucket and proclaim His name to her town and all the people around her. I've reflected a lot on this passage; seeing myself in this woman in many different ways and in many different stages in my life. But I think in a way we can all relate to this woman--especially students on a college campus. I feel so blessed to work with women who are seeking something greater than themselves and helping them have an encounter with Christ like this woman did which in turn allows them to drop their buckets- their burdens, past mistakes, future worries- and to proclaim Christ's name to everyone they meet. 

I'm so blessed to be able to be on this journey with so many amazing people and walk with women who never cease to inspire me. God is so good and continues to amaze me every day by the people He puts in my life and the encounters I have with students on campus. Although this crazy journey has just begun, I'm already so incredibly content with God's will and being a part of the Great Commission. 

Thank you for reading and know that I am praying for all of you. If you have specific intentions, please comment them below or email me at hannah.schinkel@focus.org. I have the great opportunity to spend time with Christ in front of the Blessed Sacrament every day and unite in His Suffering in the Mass daily so be assured your intentions will be prayed for! 

Stay Beautiful kids. 

hannah.marie

feeling worthy doesn't make you worthy.

A few days ago, I was watching an episode of Friends with my roommate. For any and all of you Friends fanatics out there, it was one of the first episodes of the infamous "Ross and Emily" era. For you non-Friends fanatics out there (myself included) I will set the scene for you.

Basically Ross meets this woman from England who is in America visiting for work or something--I'm obviously not part of the fan club. Long story short, after only 6 weeks, yes you read that correctly, Ross proposes to Emily so that she can stay in America. He keeps telling her how much he loves her and he says these four words that are so redundant "It just feels right." Meanwhile, to get back at Ross, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) asks her male friend whom she has gone on four dates with--yes four--if he will marry her because to her "It just feels right." Needless to say, neither one works out. 

This being said, I think we can all agree that both of these scenarios are irrational and unreasonable. I know it's in a tv show and that apparently doesn't happen in real life but I beg to differ. Many, many times we think our feelings are what is right and if you're like me, you're really good at feeling. Feeling happy comes pretty easy because of all the blessings around me, feeling sad doesn't come as often but it is definitely there. We've all felt lonely, anxious, overwhelmed, ecstatic, confused and loved. Feelings are something that we all have in common.

Most of the time, however, we give our feelings way too much attention and/or credit for what is happening in our lives (and especially in our spiritual lives). I've heard so many people say after a first date, "I just wasn't really feeling it," or "It just felt right." Whether we think about it or not, almost all of our decisions are based off of how that decision will make us feel. We all strive to feel happy and our choices are based off of that goal--to be happy. But putting this much emphasis on feeling leaves little room for rationality.

Let me tell you a little story. 


This past summer I was living in Texas doing an internship. I had the time of my life, but before I went down there I had no idea what it was going to be like. I didn't know where there was going to be a Catholic Church or if I was even going to have any friends at all down there. Long story short, I got down to Texas and found an amazing Catholic church that was only three minutes away from my house--God wink #1. I started going to mass there during the week and every Sunday and saw that they were starting a young adult bible study on Monday nights--God wink #2. As you can probably tell, although I wasn't in Nebraska anymore, I could feel and see God everywhere. He just knew that I needed to rely on and feel Him while I was away from home and the Holy Spirit was so vivid in my life. 

Fast forward to the beginning of the school year, I was so excited to come back and finish my last year of college strong. I was living in an awesome house with some amazing women and I couldn't wait to see what the year had in store. Slowly but surely, my priorities started becoming more skewed and daily mass and my spiritual life weren't getting a ton of attention. However when I did go and pray or go to mass it was radically different than when I was in Texas. I didn't feel anything. Literally I couldn't hear God at all, I didn't feel happy or peaceful or joyful or anything. It wasn't anything like how I had felt for the past three months in my spiritual life and I had no idea what I did wor what was going on. I understood that I was going through desolation and I knew/know what that means but I never truly had experienced it before. Many, many saints have gone through severe desolation including Mother Teresa who was said to have gone through it for the last 40 years of her life. For those of you who don't know what it is, desolation is basically spiritual dryness. CS Lewis describes it as "the dark night of the soul." That's pretty dramatic but hey, it's CS Lewis. 

As time went on, I thought it would wear off and I would start to feel God more in my prayer life. However even after accepting a job as a FOCUS missionary, it still wasn't there. Nothing. And I didn't know what I was doing wrong. I was seeing a spiritual director, I was going to mass and reading my bible, all the things I was "supposed" to do. And still nothing. So like any person would do (or maybe it was just me) I couldn't take it anymore and took it into my own hands. That's when sin majorly came in and slowly started taking over. It was wrapped in excuses like "I only have one semester of college left" or "Everyone else is doing way worse than me" and the devil had me wrapped around his little fiery finger. And slowly but surely, I started falling into this self-pity and disastrous mindset of not feeling worthy of even going into a church and receiving Christ in the Eucharist because how could I do this to Him after all He has done for me. I was a missionary, dammit, I was supposed to have this figured out. But I didn't. And I was actually failing miserably. 

Good Friday this year was one of the hardest ever because I fell so much more deeply into this feeling of unworthiness and guilt. I was focusing all the attention on what I had done and the guilt I was feeling rather than focusing on the glory of the cross and what He did to heal my unworthiness.  

And finally I walked into church, sat down, and said these words, "Lord, I am not worthy to sit in front of you right now. You know everything and I don't understand how You still unconditionally love me even after all of the times I've turned my back on You and rejected You. But here I am. And even thought I don't feel worthy, You have to show me my worth. YOU have to show me my dignity because right now I can't feel it." 

As I sat there, waiting for Him to overpower me and speak to me, I got nothing. 

Silence. 

So I walked out, got in my car, and started driving. No music, no tears, a little bit of anger, and a lot of confusion and doubt. I started talking myself through it out loud and all of the sudden I started talking in a voice that wasn't my own. And these were His words, to not only myself, but everyone out there going through this: 

"You're right, Hannah, you are not worthy. On our own human terms, your human definition of love says that you are not worthy and that is why you don't feel worthy. But your worth and dignity don't come from your human definition of them--they come from Mine. You aren't worthy because you feel worthy. You aren't loved because you feel loved and you aren't precious because you feel precious. You weren't called to be a missionary because you felt like it. You are worthy, loved, precious and called because I made you and because I died on My cross to prove that worth to you. Feelings will pass, my dear Hannah, they will come and they will go. But My Love for you is not going away whether you feel it or not. And tell the world this, that when they don't feel me, when they can't see or feel my love for them, tell them it is there. It's in the wind, it's in the passing smile of a stranger or the kind words of a friend. That's My Love when they can't see or feel Me. It's always there, always has been there, and always will be."  

Just because you feel something, or in my case don't feel something, doesn't always mean that it's true. My worth (and yours) doesn't come from whether you feel worthy or not. It comes from Him, who died to give you that worth and prove His love to you.

As Steven Curtis Chapman says in his song, "Put it all in the hands of the Father, give it all over to the only one who can turn it into something beautiful." 

Let Him love you. Let Him make you beautiful. 

stop predicting the rain.

This morning, as I was sitting at the Mill with a new friend, we read today's gospel. In it Jesus says,

"When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain--and so it does." 

     As I finished the reading, I didn't really think twice about what He meant by that. Then He goes on to say,

"You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?" 

      Oh, okay. I get you Jesus. It finally registers in my mind that the way we perceive things is most likely how they are going to be. If we "see the clouds coming" and expect rain, it's probably going to rain. However, if we perceive that it is going to be sunny, then the sun will probably come out. This is what I needed to hear right now in my life. The attitude and energy that I give off to the universe and have in certain situations is what is going to come back to me; whether that's school, work, friendships, or relationships.

     I've had such a negative, independent attitude towards all things love and relationships because of past wounds or scars (many of which I'm now realizing were caused by myself) that now every time God opens a door, I automatically expect the rain. I start to think of all the ways it's not going to work or what could go wrong that I fail to be present in that moment. Something I've realized (though some may say "duh Hannah") is that expecting rain isn't going to bring me sunshine. Yes, it's okay to acknowledge wounds and scars. However, acknowledging them doesn't mean giving them the power to control your life right now. I need to open our eyes to the fact that I'm not the only person out there who has scars and who is scared. Whether that may be a fear of the unknown future, or the fear of opening up and letting people into my heart to see those scars. Everyone is scared to some extent. Whether or not they want to admit it, everyone is scared to reveal their vulnerable side or their insecurities--and that's okay. We aren't meant to lay out our whole lives to everyone right when we meet them. However, something I've struggled with is striving for this perfect, "I-have-it-all-together" image that couldn't be farther from the truth.

     If we don't acknowledge that we are sinners and that we are actually incredibly flawed and imperfect, we're basically saying that Christ's Passion and Death were for nothing. If we aren't sinners, He came for nothing.

    Although the hardest thing in the world is to admit that we're wrong, that is the exact thing that is going to allow us to open ourselves up to not only Christ, but to others. And once we start allowing others to see the REAL us and not the image of who we want them to think we are, is when we will be able to recognize and be grateful for all the doors God has been opening up all along.



Sometimes the rain comes even when we don't see the clouds up ahead. But the worst thing we can do to ourselves is think that we are alone. Look around you; someone is waiting for your sunshine.

one year later...

On July 9, 2013, I packed up one backpack and set off with a group of strangers to three countries I knew nothing about. At the time, I was excited on the surface but deep down scared out of my mind at what God was going to ask of me on this trip. Not only was I scared of what He was going to ask of me on the trip, but I was even more scared about how it would change my life after the fact--because I knew from here on out everything was going to be different. I wasn't going to be able to plan out my life according to how I wanted it to be, nor was I going to be able to suppress the inherent Light inside me that God had been trying to use for 21 years.

After many, many months of trying to make this blog post perfect in a way that will describe somewhat how life-changing this experience was, this is what came of it.

Warning: My heart and soul is going to be poured out during this blog post so if you aren't ready for that, you might want to stop reading. 

 The first way (of many) ways that God showed me His infinite power on this trip was through the fundraising process. In a small amount of time, I was to raise $3,800. When He made the financial aspect of the trip happen through the many, many angels I have surrounding me, I came to the realization that this trip wasn't about me. No, No..it was way, way more than that. Christianity and Catholicism is a radical life of giving of yourself to every single person you come into contact with; it's a way of life. And God was asking us to give up the comfort of our country, our homes, our own food, and all of the physical pleasures we experience on a daily basis to do just that--bring His Light and His Life to the people of Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. 

Bring It On

Even before we left the United States, I met literal angels helping us get to where we needed to go along the way. Alissa and I had a woman who flew with us from Omaha to LA hold a plane in Houston until we were able to run across...no no...sprint across the airport to catch the plane. She told all of the flight attendants that the plan couldn't leave until we got there. I'm not sure where that LA school teacher is now, but wherever you are--thank you. 

Looking back on all of our experiences, the people, the country, it changed something inside of me. At the time, I was just living each day and asking God for the strength to make it through that single day. I had zero control over anything that was going to happen and I was in a situation that I could not get out of. Although it may not have been the air-conditioned, running-water, bug-free house that I'm living in now, I found peace knowing that I was just fine without all of those things. There are times that I make a big deal out of a single spider until I realize one year ago I was sleeping under a mosquito net and praying in a room with flying cockroaches. Yet, the peace in my heart and in all of our hearts, was indescribable. 

There are a million and one things I miss about Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. I miss the friendships I made with all of the students, I miss the strange food (however, I don't miss the pig tongue), I miss the kids that changed my life forever. But most importantly, I miss the prayer. The Divine link that connected us to each other and to God through prayer and daily mass was so short that I took every single thing to God and prayed to Him about it--my struggles, the blessings, the future, everything. And despite doing that for a month straight, it is one of the hardest things in my life right now. Praying is the same, but it doesn't feel the same because of all of the distractions: cell phones, Facebook, school, relationships, etc, etc. 

After looking at all of the pictures from the trip again, I wanted to share with you all some of my favorite ones and tell you how it impacted me. 

                           

                                                           Hermosa Beach, California

"Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them this, 'Do not go into pagan territory. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' Behold, I am sending you like sheep among wolves." 

Matthew 10:5-16

I could not have asked for a better group of people to have experienced this trip with. I remember thinking right after I got off the phone interview with Frank-o that I was so excited to share something so special with a group of strangers. Although we haven't kept in touch, I want y'all to know that each of you hold a special place in my heart. I hope that this corrupt, crazy, American world and lifestyle doesn't change what God instilled in each of our hearts one year ago. You are each such a light in the lives of the people around you and I want to personally thank you each for impacting me in such a profound way.

My darling Dhea

Although you may have already forgotten us, your smile hasn't left our hearts. The joy you brought every single day to my life made it easy to wake up in the morning and face the day. I never saw Dhea without a smile on her face. In the morning, she would run over as fast as she could and jump on your lap and not get off. She would jump and flip and never stop smiling or laughing or dancing. I miss this darling girl, but I cannot wait to see her smiling face in Heaven one day. 

John Paul 

The first work day in the Philippines, we met John Paul. He was probably a 9 year old boy who couldn't get enough of us. He even came to mass with us a couple times! Whenever we would work, he would work with us doing whatever it was we were doing. He looked up to the guys in our group like a son looked up to his father. It was so cool to see the guys pray with him and love him unconditionally and he respected them so much. John Paul, wherever you are, I miss you. Your tears on the last day weren't a result of the time we spent with you, but were the result of God shining down His love upon you through the men in our group. Praise God for all the guys in our group who touched JP's life in ways they can't imagine. 

Sacrifice

This picture is just one of many pictures that shows the sacrifice that we went through. This is probably the least amount of sacrifice a picture could show, however it is a pretty good picture of how our trip went. One of the things our trip leader said was that you can't just be flexible on this trip, you have to be liquid. Things are going to be thrown at us that weren't planned or totally out of the blue and we just have to say "okay" and do it. The van rides one of many ways we gave up our comfort zones (quite literally) and threw our guards down as a group. We let God form us together and we became so close (physically and spiritually.) It was never a dull moment in these vans, especially when Julian was driving. Thank you Jesus we're alive. ;)

Gigi 

Our Lady of Perpetual Help 

My angel

The gang

And last but not least.....

My beautiful Abai 

I met Abai the second or third day we were in the village. She was always quiet and never said a word, but she had this smile on her face that was literally from an angel. Whenever she would come sit on my lap, she would always just rest her head on my chest and sit there. I never wanted to let her go. She was so little and perfect and it felt like I was holding an angel in my lap. The whole time we were there, I had a rosary that I had made by my friend Julia and had it for over a year. It was always on my wrist and I never took it off. While we were in the Philippines, all of the children always had rosaries around their necks besides Abai. You could see on her face that she wanted one but would always just smile at the other children playing with theirs. I decided that I wanted to leave something with Abai and so I gave her my rosary to have. 

Beautiful girl, I hope you grow up to be whatever your heart desires. You were such an angel to me and I miss you every single day. Know that I love you and hope that smile of yours never goes away. 

So to all of the people out there who think that mission trips are merely made by white, American girls trying to get a new profile picture--I want to respectfully tell you that you couldn't be more wrong. Did I change my profile picture? Yes. Did I go because I needed a radical change in my life? Absolutely. Did God call me to go out and serve His people even though two weeks won't change their physical situation at all? You bet. If your argument against mission trips is that we are actually hurting them and not helping them, I beg to differ. We may not have built an entire house with our bare hands. We didn't bring them out of poverty or drastically change their physical situation at all. However, I ask you to look beyond the physical ramifications of a mission trip because, in reality, that's not what mission trips are (or should be) about. This trip wasn't about me. It wasn't about my profile picture changing or making me feel better about myself because I got to give a kid in the Philippines a hug. This trip was about Christ--as is everything in life. 

Something I struggled with as I came back to my everyday life was wondering if these kids would forget about us. The devil got in my head and told me night and day that what we did and what we brought to them wasn't useless. What I didn't realize at the time though, was that we are not their savior. We cannot protect them or make sure they have dinner or change their lives at all. But God can. Just like I cannot control my life, I cannot be a savior to these kids. But if through me they saw the Light, if through me they felt loved and appreciated and happy, then it was 100% worth it. Maybe they will forget me, maybe they already have. But I will never, ever forget them. 

the sweet, sweet arrow.

Human beings amaze me. Their compassion, their support, their beauty--it has all just amazed me. And although many of us expect humans to be nice to each other, that's obviously not always the case. I'm actually not really sure what I expected to meet when I got down here to good 'ole Texas. I was expecting a summer of solitude and self-exploration and frankly, just being alone (which was oddly okay with me.) However, the second I got down here I had a plethora of people asking me to hang out, go to the bars with them, go shopping, go to baseball games, etc. They brought me in and made me feel like I was a part of the group and it made the transition so much easier and way more fun. And let me just tell you that Texans might even be *dare I say* nicer then Nebraskans. (Keyword: might.)

anyways...

For the past three years in college, I've surrounded myself with the most amazing and incredible people. They are people who love beyond limits, would drop anything to be with you when you can't seem to pick yourself up out of bed, and go on Sonic runs (or Jimmy Johns) in the middle of the night just cause. And having these people around me has made me realize how important it is to spend your time and energy with people who love you no matter what and who will be there no matter what. There are people in my life who I have given way too much credit and energy to who are undeserving of it. Isn't it funny that we have so many people who love us in the world, yet we focus our energy on the few who don't? Why the heck do we do that? Seriously though...will someone please tell me. Love them, yes. But I'm vowing to no longer waste energy on people who....well..shitty.

I read a blog the other day and it helped me to realize that happiness isn't an object to attain. So many people think that once they "get happy" or "get happiness" but really that isn't what it is about at all. Happiness is inside of you, however cliché that sounds. No one can give you happiness. So stop thinking that is going to come from someone else.

A couple of months ago, I got an arrow tattooed on my side with my sister. At first, it was a reminder to myself to keep moving forward no matter what. However, being away it has kind of taught me something else. Yes, it points forward. But in reality, it points to the place I've come from as well as the place that I'm going. Wherever the hell that is. It points to the people who support me no matter what, even when I pick up and decide to move to Texas. It points to the people who never get sick of having to remind me that everything is going to be okay.


This blog was all over the place and I apologize for that. But, if you're reading this far that means you must have found something worthwhile in it and for that I am thankful. Know that I am praying for y'all and keep this wandering soul in your prayers as well.

The Pill Actually Sucks.

Many, many women in our generation are currently taking a little white pill labeled “The Birth Control Pill.” If you are reading this and are one of these women, in no way, shape or form is this article supposed to reprimand you for doing so. I understand that there are medical reasons (some life threatening) that women take it. However, I wish to inform you of the truths that many doctors fail to tell you when they prescribe this pill that is supposed to solve all of your problems. Let me start off by saying that you and your femininity are absolutely beautiful. Do not let anyone tell you anything differently. Believe it or not, your fertility and those pesky hormones are what make you a woman.

Here are ten truths about the pill that most people don’t know before they take it.

1)   Increased risk of cancer

There have been many articles written about how the pill is said to decrease chances of ovarian cancer. However, in a study done by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2004, “Women who are on the pill have an increased chance of getting breast, cervical and liver cancer. In another study done by the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomakers and Prevention center in California, “Women who regularly use the pill are 4.2 times more likely to get breast cancer.”

If this doesn’t make an impact on you, think about this. The number of cases of breast cancer has risen over 80% since the 1970s. Do you know what happened right before that? You guessed it, the birth control pill was approved in 1960.

2)   Origin of the Pill

      When Dr. Gregory Pincus originally introduced the pill, he started off the study by testing the birth control pill on men. The study showed that the birth control pill caused "testicular swelling on the men" so they stopped the study right away. Dr. Pincus then started testing the pill on women. During this study, three women died and yet they still continued. To this day, there are no oral contraceptives for men because it is “too risky”. This, ladies and gentlemen, is sexism at its finest.

3)   Bad Sex.

      Although not all girls are on the pill for sexual reasons, believe it or not, many girls actually are. We are meant to have sex—good sex. Actually not just good sex, we are made to have GREAT sex. Naturally, women are the horniest when they are ovulating.  However, the pill stops that ovulation which, in turn, stops the inherent, natural desire for sex. Ever heard of faking the big O? Yeah, this is why women are known for doing that—because of this stupid pill. We have to use pornography and sex toys to make sex more enjoyable when in fact our natural desire for sex is meant to be good enough.

             4) Manhood and Masculinity is attacked

      During ovulation, women are more attracted to guys with masculine features (i.e. broad shoulders, facial hair, muscles). Women who are on the pill don’t have “fertile days” which means they don’t have the same hormonal changes that cause them to be attracted to men of dissimilar genetic makeup (according to Dr. S. Craig Roberts). Women in this study reported to be less satisfied with men of similar genetic makeup then after sleeping with men of dissimilar genetic makeup. This non-satisfaction leads me to my next point.

5)   Increases the chance of divorce

Although the pill isn’t directly correlated to the increase of divorce, studies show that couples that use NFP (Natural Family Planning), as opposed to artificial contraceptives, have less than 0.2% divorce rate. Compare this number to scary (and rising) national divorce rate of 50%.

6) The Symptoms

            Many women (and girls) who go on the pill are most concerned with the most common side effect—weight gain. Ladies, the doctors will tell you that weight gain, some spotting, and bigger boobs are the only side effects of the pill but I’m sorry to tell you that they are absolutely wrong. Those are some of the most common side effects, but in reality, a lot of other sh** happens to your body without you even knowing. I had two friends within two weeks of each other get rushed to the ER because they had a blood clot that was caused by their birth control.  There are so many lawsuits out there that are suing various birth control brands because they caused blood clots, strokes, heart attacks, and even death. You tell me, is a clear, acne-free face or cramp-less period worth your life? I don’t think so.

7) Objectifies women

            Ladies, you don’t deserve to put your beautiful body through the burden of having to live with being a slave to this medication. Yes, maybe you take it for medical reasons, but there are actually pretty natural ways to regulate your period, clear your acne, and make cramps more bearable. Our culture says to women, “Your fertility is a problem and the way to solve that is to change your life and schedule to become enslaved to this pill, ring, shots, patches,” or whatever it may be. You are not a burden. Your fertility, hormones, mood changes and all, are what make you a woman. Embrace that!

8) It makes you LESS ATTRACTIVE to men

            We are in the time of our lives that everyone around us either is looking for a significant other or is getting one. Relationships and your attractiveness to the opposite sex are in the forefront of everyone’s minds. So why would we take a pill influence our attractiveness and ability to find a life-long mate? Lionel Tiger (and colleagues) did a study where they put one male monkey on an island with six other female monkeys. The male monkey picked out three female monkeys who were his primary sex partners. Tiger then injected the female monkeys with contraceptives and the male monkey stopped having sex with them. The male monkey then went on to have sex with the female monkeys that weren’t on the contraceptive. This study shows that women who aren’t on contraceptives are more attractive to men.

9) Changes who you’re attracted to

            Pheromones are the odorless, colorless chemical that attracts people to one another. Women give off the most pheromones when they are ovulating, which makes them the most attractive during this time. However, since the pill releases crazy amounts of artificial hormones, the pheromones that the women are attracted to change when they stop taking the pill. It goes back to the point I made in reason #4—it makes you less attracted to masculine men and in turn your pheromones make you attracted to a less suitable partner. (No thank you.)

10) It’s harmful to the environment.

            Finally, if none of these reasons sway you to think twice before you pop that pill that is supposed to solve all of your problems, give the environment a break. There are so many people that are concerned with recycling and doing so much to help the earth, yet they are doing harm to themselves AND the environment when they are taking this artificial pill. The pill emits 30-50 mcg of estrogen in one dose. Every woman that takes it ends up going to the bathroom, and in turn this water eventually makes its way to water reservoirs and the fish actually take in the estrogen that is in the water. EE2, which is the active ingredient in most birth control pills, creates an “intersex” among fish. Which basically means makes male fish, male/female fish. That’s gross. Let’s be nice to our environment and let male fish be male fish.

           

Ladies and gentlemen, (but mostly just ladies):  you are worth more then putting your body through all of this artificialness. Your body was made in a way that is perfect just the way it is and there’s no reason for you to have to change it. Do yourselves a favor and research (holistically) what your doctors are prescribing and what you are putting into your body. Believe me, the pill is not the end all be all to your problems and to your life.