PADUCAH, Ky. - A year ago I hardly imagined that my life would be as entirely different as it is today. I wasn’t particularly bored with life, nor was I especially unhappy with myself, but now, as a changed person, I have a whole different group of friends, and I’m a much happier person. I have found new meaning and life in myself and what I do. I have found Life Teen.

As the fledging Life Teen Masses grew in Paducah, there was desperate need for musicians. A girl at school who knew that I played guitar asked if I would join. I happily agreed to play with the band the following Sunday. After all, this was a chance for me to play guitar, which is really all I was interested in at the time. My life has not been the same since.

The people that I met at Life Teen were all extraordinary. They all loved music, they loved Jesus, they were happy people, and they were not afraid to show it. Their uniqueness was apparent immediately and saturated every aspect of their personalities, their actions, senses of humor, and even their clothing was strikingly individual. As they became my friends, I was inspired to change my life, to be unique without apprehension or inhibition, and I found myself.

The Life Teen Masses eliminated any and all of my preconceptions that church must be a boring, routine chore in which I am merely an unwilling observer. I was introduced to not just a Mass, but an intimate experience. The music was enthusiastic and attention-grabbing, the homilies related to teenagers, and the youth gathering afterwards was very edifying and fun. Life Teen was an immediate success.

I used to be a conforming quasi-heathen and I was afraid to be my true self. Through Life Teen, I have become a better musician, a better friend, and a better person. I rediscovered faith, and found an entirely new life as a result. I have been resurrected.