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13 March

Each year, student leaders from Catholic secondary schools gather to meet with Archbishop Denis Hart in the annual ‘conversation with youth’. In the church’s Year of Youth the meeting took on a special emphasis. Caroline Chisholm Catholic College, Braybrook, hosted over 30 schools at this year’s event. Year 12 student Alexandra Salvatore reported back on what the day meant to her.

The main message that I took out of the day is to be yourself. That it is important to live according to your own desires and values, not the desires and values of others; to be brave and honest about what really is important to you, and then stand up for it.

One of the most important things that I learnt today was the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness arises due to external information such as people or places, whereas joy is internally cultivated. I realised that it is important to be joyful as it allows a person to find satisfaction within yourself as opposed to depending on the capability of others.

I hope that the Year of Youth not only inspires and motivates youth, but inspires and motivates those involved with youth as well as those entering their youthful stages. I hope that the year makes these individuals feel as if they have a purpose on this planet and for them to understand that they are just as important as everyone else.