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Personal Narrative: Catholic Youth Conferences

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Thousands of cheers erupted as the stadium was filled with the uplifting melody of contemporary Christian music. Everywhere I looked, someone was enthusiastically clapping and belting out lyrics as they appeared on the enormous projector screen. Without bothering to care about the pitchiness of their teenage vocals, they bounced up and down screaming out the song as if each person was determined to out sing the person sitting next to him or her. As I adjusted to the crazy scene that Catholic youth conferences commonly created, I cautiously proceeded to add my screechy singing voice to the mix. At the start of my journey, I was certain that the Steubenville Conference would be a mirror image of the last three youth conferences that I had attended. …show more content…

As the music faded out and our first speaker approached the microphone on stage, I exhaled a sigh of relief. While I loved to sing along during these events, I could never shake the menacing voice of anxiety that was draped over my head. While the speakers delivered their stories, I listened intently, desperate to absorb a saying or phrase that would banish the dark presence from my mind. However, the next morning when I awoke, I was extremely discouraged to realize that I felt no different. Disappointed, I set out to receive advice from my group leader.
“Julie, why do I feel like I am only going through the motions? How can I get the most out of this experience?” I asked defeatedly.
“Be patient, Jessica. God can work in wondrous ways if you open your heart to him,” she replied.
She advised me to go to confession so that I could have a clean slate as I entered adoration later that night. While confession had always been something that I had feared, I decided that it might be my best option. I waited in line for what felt like hours and formed a mental list of every fault that I had committed. When it was my turn to finally go, anxiety nearly wiped the sins that I planned to confess from my brain. After nervously presenting the priest with my testimony, he pardoned me from my sins. I then proceeded to stand in line to await our admittance into

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