The "New" Me

This past summer I traveled to New Orleans on a mission trip with my youth group and it changed my life entirely. Before this trip I had gone on two mission trips before, and on those two I was kind a just the girl in the background. No one really noticed me, some of my good friends today do not even remember me going on the first one I ever went on, that‘s how bad it was. But after my second one I got more involved with my youth group and started talking to people in the youth group. After that trip I became a religious education teacher, Eucharist minister, and I absolutely loved getting involved interacting with kids my age about what we all have in common. When I became involved other people acknowledge it too. Toward the end of the school yea my senior year, my youth minster recognized me, and two of my friends, with St. Timothy awards. This just pretty much recognizes us with our involvement in the church. When I received it I wasn’t expecting it at all, I was just doing what I wanted to do, and I wasn’t expecting anything in return. That also showed me that I was on the right path in my life. I was so excited to go to New Orleans and be one that people look to for help or guidance. But that really didn’t happen all too much cause I was one asking a lot of the questions to people who had been to New Orleans before cause the city was new to me. This time around I was noticed more and I made more friends that I never would have made if I was that quiet girl who went on the first two mission trips. This trip definitely made me more prepared for coming to school. I was so nervous and still was until the day I got here. But on these trips I made friends that had been in my position last year and I could talk to them about what was going on and stuff. I also made friends that were going through the exact thing I was going through, at the exact same time and it helped me so much with just being able to talk to them about anything going on in my mind.