Kairos

At Boston College, as well as other Jesuit high schools and universities across the country, there exists a mythical retreat called Kairos. Students who sign up are randomly chosen at some point during their educational career and are whisked off for a weekend of secret magic and fun and joy and come back completely renewed and the happiest people on earth. They know something that they won't tell you, and every time you ask what happens on Kairos, they say "You have to go to find out." Sounds weird, right?

I was a nonbeliever in Kairos for a long time. I even went so far as to publicly express my rage at not knowing "the secret" of Kairos and not being a part of that group that seemed so elite. Those people with their joy and their smiles and their retreat experience, they didn't know what it was like to be a real student. They were so privileged and cool and I felt so...not. I wanted what they had and I wanted it now.

As a junior whose friends had almost all been called for Kairos, I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to go. I would never be one of the elite and that was okay with me, I was finally starting to accept my fate. That is, until one day in the Rat (world's best dining hall) when I was checking my e-mail and had one from "kairos" that said I was called for retreat number 98!! I was psyched. I was finally going to find out all of the secrets of the Kairos world and, more importantly, I was finally going to be able to tell everyone I knew something they didn't! Things were great!

I finally went on Kairos this past weekend and had the time of my life. On this retreat, I learned two things. The first thing is that I hate wearing shoes (I am now the #1 fan of walking around in my socks), and the second thing...is a secret. :)


Amanda Penza
CSOM '12