If someone told me that my faith would change my life a few years ago, I would not have believed them. I used to be someone that didn't want to go to church and sometimes not even Sunday school.

In ninth grade I attended my first youth convention. While there I participated in my first adoration. This moment, in my opinion, was magical. I felt the Holy Spirit come down upon me and showed me what I had been doing wrong in my life.

I started going to events that would strengthen my faith, such as Christian Leadership Institution, where I gained methods on how to become a better Christian leader. Now, this doesn't mean that I'm equipped to lead the Church, but it gave me ways to voice myself as a Christian and how to show that I am a believer in the faith. It also gave me ways to lead in Church events.

From there, I became more involved in my youth group. This lead me to volunteer throughout the community and my church.

One event that I really gained something from was Habitat for Humanity. I took part in building houses for those in need. This showed me that others are impacted by things that I do throughout the community.

This year, I was on the Diocesan Youth Board, where I impacted more lives by showing youths that God always has mercy for us and how they can show God's mercy to others. I told my small group the ways that I have shown God's mercy. The Youth Board has also brought me close to a wonderful group of young adults that are growing in their faith just like me. Honestly my faith isn't something that I do, but it's who I am.