Youth in Action

Youthin action

Olivia Richard

School: St. Mary’s Nativity School, Raceland Grade: 8th Church parish: St. Mary’s Nativity, Raceland

Describe your family unit:

Sara Richard, mother; Randy Richard, father; Katie Richard, stepmother; Parker Richard, brother Favorite Hobby: Volleyball Favorite T.V. Show: Grey’s Anatomy Favorite Movie: Top Gun: Maverick

Favorite Genre of Music:

Country

As a young Catholic living in the United States, what are some of the things you are thankful for this Thanksgiving?

As a young Catholic living in the United States, during these Thanksgiving times I am thankful that our way of life is starting to get back to normal. During the past two years, our community was hit hard with COVID-19. Because of COVID-19, we were not able to come together as a complete community in our church parish, but now that COVID-19 case numbers have gone down, we are able to gather in larger crowds. I am very grateful that the restrictions have eased throughout the country. It makes me very happy to see everyone gathering with family and friends and having smiles on their faces again.

We also took a direct hit from Hurricane Ida. At my school, many of the students’ houses were destroyed and many are still displaced to this day because their homes are unlivable. I couldn’t be more thankful to everyone around the country who helped deliver much needed supplies that we didn’t have access to at the time.

With Hurricane Ida hitting my town and destroying most of it, I am thankful that after almost a year we are finally able to move back into my home. With the help of friends and family, anything can be fixed, even if it takes time. Because of the hurricane, our church was also messed up. Although we are not in our church, I am thankful that we have another resource building that we now use for school and community Masses. It might not be the best or most convenient, but it still allows us to have Masses as a school and gather as a family. BC