When I was seventeen, my best friend Don Lee returned from a six-month stay in Hawaii and announced that he had converted to the Bahá'í Faith.  I had never heard of it before.  Because he was my friend, I accepted his invitation to attend a Bahá'í fireside, where I could learn more about the faith. 
 

The first thing I learned about Bahá'ís is that they love to extend gracious hospitality, even to scruffy teens.  The Fireside was held in a beautiful home, with Persian carpets on the floor and tea dispensed from a silver samovar.  The second thing I learned about Bahá'ís was how diverse they were, and how much they all liked it.  A Navajo sand-painter brought several paintings to show.  I had a long talk with a young black man who had just earned an advanced rating in Judo.  Prayers were said in Farsi, English, Spanish, Navajo.  One of the men brought out a lute and played medieval music for us.  We stayed very late that night, and I went home with lots of questions and a small book of prayers. 

It was the beauty of the Bahá'í scriptures that captured my heart.  I could simply not deny the deep inner rightness I felt when reading the small prayer book I brought home. 

Over time, I returned for more Firesides, full of questions from what I had read.  My new Bahá'í friends were patient.  I think they understood earlier than I that I had already adopted the Faith and the scriptures in my heart. 
 

My life is now punctuated by the rhythms of the Bahá'í calendar.  Our year begins on March 21st, the ancient Persian holiday of Naw-Rúz.  Throughout the year are holy days observing significant moments in the history of our Faith.  The Bahá'í calendar includes 19 months of 19 days each, with the first day of each month designated as Feast.  At Feast, the Bahá'í community gathers to recite the scriptures, consult on the business of the community, and catch up with each other.  The few leftover days of the year form Ayyam-i-Ha, a time of parties and celebration, which is followed by the Fast, 19 days of dawn-to-dusk fasting. 

The Fast is a great physical challenge to all Bahá'ís, yet we do look forward to this time each year.  The Fast peels away much day-to-day worry, focusing our quiet thoughts instead on spiritual growth.  And then, after the Fast, we again celebrate Naw-Rúz, and the next Bahá'í year begins. 

Living as a Bahá'í brings both challenge and strength.  It is not very easy; there are daily prayers to recite, laws to observe, a sense sometimes of swimming crossways to the currents of modern society.  Yet despite the challenges, I am strengthened by my faith.  The Bahá'í precept to be "generous in prosperity, and cheerful in adversity" reminds me to keep a smile and a light touch, even when sad things happen.  And the sense of unity with Bahá'í's worldwide, of all lands and colors and languages and backgrounds, means I have something invested in the well-being of even the poorest regions of the world, since I have friends there.  Perhaps that is one of the most remarkable things about being a Bahá'í - that no matter where you go, you are among friends.