While I may not be a seasoned professional at being a Young Life leader (and let's be honest, it's only my first year being involved in it ever), I have fallen in love with everything it stands for and wishes to accomplish in a matter of months. Especially after recently getting the opportunity to spend a weekend in Chicago with Young Life leaders from across the Midwest, I have such an appreciation for what YL stands for and the work that they do locally, regionally and globally.

Young Life, I have two little words for you: thank you.

1. Thank you for being accepting.

Thanks for being a community where I can be 100 percent myself and I know that I will be accepted and loved for who I have been created to be in God. Having that feeling is inexplicably wonderful.

2. Thank you for teaching kids what love looks like.

Thanks for focusing on "loving kids regardless of their response" and teaching leaders the best ways that kids experience love. Thank you for making club, campaigners, camp and contact work outlets for revealing the love of Christ to kiddos.

3. Thank you for not always being serious.

Thanks for letting my team and I come up with some of the weirdest games ever, and for making club be a space where kids think they're cool and funny. And thanks for always being a good excuse to sing T-Swift at the top of my lungs.

4. Thank you for putting me out of my comfort zone.

Thanks for making me try new things every week, whether it be talking to kids I don't know at lunch, being a little bit more goofy during club or honestly sharing my experiences through club talks.

5. Thank you for bringing people together.

Thanks for putting eight individuals that I otherwise would never have met on my team and making them people that I can trust and come to with anything in the world. Thanks for making our team a family.

6. Thank you for loving Jesus.

Thanks for focusing on telling kids about the God who completely adores them and for knowing that a relationship with Christ is the most important thing in the world.

7. Thank you for themed clubs.

Thanks for creating excuses to wear ridiculous amounts of denim, make a basement look like a laser tag arena and turn a turkey into a bowling ball. No explanation needed.

8. Thank you for stressing relationships.

Thanks for focusing on meeting kids where they are and encouraging the formation of friendships that are rooted in Christ.

9. Thank you for showing kids consistency.

Thank you for a consistent schedule and putting leaders in place who consistently sacrifice their time and energy to pour into kids on a regular basis. And as a leader, thanks for showing me what it means to carve out time in my schedule for relationships, not just meetings.

10. Thank you for creating an environment where strangers can become best friends within days.

Thanks for having conferences, camp and billions of other ways to make connections with other leaders regionally and nationally. Thanks for turning the group of people pictured below from strangers into pals that I can walk through life with.

Thank you for the loving, safe atmosphere you have created for students, Young Life. Thanks for constantly making a difference in my life and for doing the same for people worldwide. Ily, YL.