I am going to World Youth Day 2016 (WYD16) because I believe it will be a great experience as I will get to travel overseas for the first time and experience different cultures and interact with people from all over the world. I hope to deepen my faith and strengthen my relationship with God.
I had the pleasure of experiencing WYD when it was here in Sydney in 2008. I was able to meet people from all walks of life from all over the world.
I am currently a member of a youth group called Antioch and previously with a younger youth group, Connect.
The first thing I did when I realised that I wanted to attend WYD was get myself a job and commit to helping with the various fundraisers set in place to help ease the financial side of the pilgrimage. I also realised that I had to commit myself spiritually and mentally to WYD in order to get the most out of this experience, as it is a very big commitment.
I will be participating in the Saints of Italy pilgrimage and during our pilgrimage we will be visiting Milan, Florence, Siena and Assisi and Rome where we will get the chance to visit religious and historical sites as well as celebrate mass daily.
From Italy we head to Poland where we will be travelling through Warsaw, Czestochowa, Krakow for WYD week itself and Zakopane for our post-WYD retreat.
I hope to establish lifelong friendships, build a deeper relationship with God, deepen my faith and learn more about myself and different cultures and their practices.
My faith is important to me as it acts as a guide on how to live out my life to the fullest. It helps me appreciate the world and its people more and it gives my life a sense of purpose.
Bosco College and Bosco parish have helped me shape and deepen my faith by formation encouraging me to go to Church regularly, educating me about my faith and providing various formation days in preparation for WYD.
For me, the most challenging part of WYD will be missing out on school as I am a senior student. However, even though this means I will have a lot of catching up to do when I get back I know it will be all worth it in the end. Being away from friends and family will also be difficult but by making new friends and having a different type of family will get me through it.