About two summers ago I went to New Orleans with my church youth group. I definitely didn't know what to expect, or what I would get out of this whole trip. All I could think about was that this was the place where Katrina demolished and took many innocent lives, and from the beginning I've always wondered what it would be like to go there. Once my chance had finally arrived, of course I was estatic. We were going there to make a difference and that's all I've ever wanted to do. Even if it was little it was still going to change someones life and that's all that mattered to me. The first day we got there, we went to our hotel and then headed out to the Super Dome where the gathering would be held every night and morning, and to think that this one place held hundreds of people during the time of Katrina and I was standing in the middle of it. Being in that place, I could feel the sadness, but security at the same time, that this place held. But when I walked into this place for the first time, I could hear music blasting from the speakers; I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas as I reacall. I will never forget that song, and to this day I consider it to be my lucky song. Everytime I hear it, it brings me back to this place. Our Service project for this trip was to help rebuild an elementary school. My group and I helped repaint classrooms as well as build tables and clean up this garden that was in the back of the school. After we had finished, it all looked so beautiful, and new. We had made a difference and it was the best feeling in the world. Being in New Orleans definitely changed me, as in, it made me realize that there are people who don't have as much as I do, also it made me cherish the peopleI have in my life. Being around the people in my youth group everyday brought me closer to them all and if it wasn't for this trip I would of never opened myself up. This trip made me realize that in order to live life you need to take chances. This was the most fun I have ever had in my entire life and even now, two years later, nothing has compared to this experience, and I don't think anything will ever compare to this just because of what it did to me and how it made me feel. It was definitely an adventure.
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