It all started in Pre-K 4.

My mother and father decided that they were going to send me to the Catholic school around the corner for my house. At the time, I barely understood where I lived and why I was going to this stranger place called school anyway, never mind what the word Catholic meant and how it would shape my life completely as I grew up.

It wasn't until high school that my faith life really started growing. Even though I went to Catholic school for elementary school, knew how to say my rosary, could say the Lord's prayer forwards and backwards and knew most of my saints, there was no real feeling behind all of it. For awhile with me it was all just repetition. Then, I went on a retreat called Antioch and my world completely changed. I met people I never thought I would meet and connected with them better than I did with some members of my family.

After my first Antioch, going to and leading retreats became somewhat an addiction for me. In total, in high school, I went to seven Antioch retreats, a retreat called March Leadership Retreat which reaffirmed my faith and finally Gospel Road: New Orleans, a service retreat that taught me the importance of serving others.

Once college rolled around, my faith life started to weaken a bit. This year I decided to go on a retreat that my college was busing students to, called Awakening. I am so glad I did it because it lit that fire of faith in me again and this time it is not going out.

As you guys can probably predict, I have met hundreds of people because of these retreats and there is not enough words in the dictionary to express just how thankful of them that I am. However, I am using this article to attempt to show the immense gratitude that I have towards them.

1. Thank you for always being a listening ear.

There are people that I have gone on retreats with that I have not spoken to because of time/distance and other factors for months or even years. However, I know that if I reached out to one of them right now and asked for them to help me out with a problem, they would drop what they were doing and listen to me. One of the best parts of all the Facebook groups with the different people on staff and retreat-ants has been having an outlet to write my problems in and know I will have people to listen to my concerns.

2. Thank you for helping me grow.

One does not know how to truly solve a problem and get over issues until you get told that the boy who picked on you the most in elementary school was going to be your partner for leading your small group. Being a leader at retreats taught me how to organize, lead by example, and how to truly listen. I truly believe had I not gone on my retreats I would not be the person that I am today.

3. Thank you for praying for me.

There is no better thing to hear from a Catholic than "I am praying for you." No matter what your beliefs might be, you have to realize one big thing. When a Catholic prays for you, they are asking the Highest being they know to use His will to help you. They are putting their many prayers aside to take care of you. Thank you for praying for me at all times, even when I don't realize it. I hope you all know I pray for you guys too, every single day.

4. Thank you for all the laughter and tears.

One of the best parts about retreat planning/retreat attending is all of the inside jokes that have been made. For example, to many people the idea of coloring might not be funny. However, if you ask some of the team members who were on ABVM Antioch I they might start laughing. Thanks for making the stressfulness of planning a retreat fun along the way. Thank you for being there when I am crying too. Here's to every tissue box we have ever gone through together and all of the group hugs too.

5. Thank you for all of the reunions.

Nothing is better than seeing someone who you have not seen in a very long time. Coming home from college and going to Easter mass and seeing people who you were their small group leader reading at mass or walking in the communion line. Even better is for all of my retreat friends from different states popping up in the same place unexpectedly. Or spending nights laying awake planning trips back to New Orleans. Every minute we are all apart will make it that much better when we are finally back together. After all, "How lucky am I to have someone so hard to say goodbye to?"

Here's to all of the "You Are Holy's" we have sung, the prayers we have said and the moments we have shared. I love you guys and thank you for everything.