In 2008, a friend of mine asked me would I like to go to Australia for World Youth Day. At the time I had no idea what World Youth Day was but little did I know it would turn out to be a life changing experience and one that I would never forget.  I arrived at the airport knowing only two or three people heading onto the long plane journey to Australia. I came home with a lot of really close friends.

The first part of the trip was in Melbourne. Here, we stayed with families in the parish of St. Scholastica, where, we were made feel very at home. During our stay at St. Scholastica we attended "Days of our Dioceses". This was the first outing where we got to meet so many different young people from around the world. Back in the parish we took part in a variety of activities. The parish organized a barbeque and we taught the children of the parish how to do Irish dancing. These activities were a great way of getting to know everybody on the trip and little did I know these people would turn out to be life long friends. Every morning there was a Mass, which we could attend if we wished. I was part of the choir which really enhanced my enjoyment of the two weeks in Australia. In the evenings we were free to travel into Melbourne were many of us attended musicals and explored the city.

In week two we headed to Sydney. Here we were staying in a school out at Bondi Beach. This was a truly memorable week. We attended concerts, talks and discussions as part of World Youth Day where we met young people from all different corners of the world. During our free time we spent our days touring Sydney. On the last day we camped outside with just sleeping bags with 10,000 other people from all over the world.

Before I left for this trip I was nervous and had no real idea what to expect. This trip, however, turned out to be the most enjoyable two weeks of my life to date. I made life long friends and the people I met on this trip have turned out to be my closest friends even today and we are off again this year, to Madrid.