By Caroline Bandigan and Cindy Rene

As we faced another late afternoon at Bishop Loughlin M.H.S., Fort Greene, it seemed to us that high school seniors never get a break. Luckily, this afternoon involved the only break we could look forward to in the entire week, aside from free periods, Fridays and the weekend.

So we used the time to plan our Thursday morning meeting with Lasallian Youth.

“Hey Cindy! Are you ready to cook these burgers? (codename for planning meetings),” yelled Caroline down the hall to the other half of C&C, Cindy.

“Of course buddy! We got this!”

We both settle in our usual spots in the guidance office, ready with our respective Lasallian Youth notebooks for notes and ideas.

After about an hour of “cooking burgers,” we hit a wall.

“Caroline, ugh, why do we do this?!?”

“Because we love Lasallian Youth! I mean, now that I say that, ‘Why do we love Lasallian Youth?’”

“Well, I’d say we love it because it is one of the few places that we can call home. And that’s big, Caroline. Home is a word usually intended to describe one place; a central location where you can sleep, eat and always feel welcome. And that’s what Lasallian Youth has been for us without the sleep, of course,” Cindy laughs.

“And without the food ’cause you’re always eating it!” Caroline playfully shouted.

“Always,” Cindy said with a smile, “But what about you, Caroline, what has Lasallian Youth done for you?”

“Honestly, Lasallian Youth is what first won me over at Loughlin. I fell in love with what you guys did together, the vibe of the group and the people of the group! I met so many amazing people like Adrian (former Lasallian Youth vice president) and Danahja (former president), you, Danae, Mr. [Mike] Foley (moderator)… Especially after Holy Week and Leadership Retreat, I became so much closer to people from other grades and even found my Little Ones to watch over! I grew myself into this service loving junkie-loyal Lasallian-leader.”

“You’re gonna make me cry!” said Cindy, raising her arms above her head in exasperation.

“It’s true though! I genuinely enjoy everyone’s personalities and determination to make the world a better place. Plus, all the people we meet through service projects like Random Acts of Kindness and Virginia Day Care reminds me that it’s our duty in the world to make life worth living for everyone.”

“That was so beautifully put Caroline,” Cindy says as she wipes an imaginary tear from her eye.

“Why thank you, I try.”

“I feel the same as you do, Caroline, and I think that’s a major reason why we work so well together. We both are so passionate about service and at making sure that Lasallian Youth is even more of a home for others than it is for us. And like you, Caroline, I don’t know where I would be without Lasallian Youth. I’ve met and connected with so many people over the years through this group, and I’m friends a lot of those people today.”

“Oh yeah, you’ve been with Lasallian Youth since freshman year, right?”

“Yes, I remember my first Holy Week Retreat, and the first time I met Danahja. That’s also where I really got to know Adrian and Ashley and so many others.”

“But what else made you love Lasallian Youth so much?”

“It’s the sense of community that I feel. It is the fact that I am able to connect with so many different types of people, and be able to share things with them that I might not even be able to share with my closest friends. It’s the sense of family I feel every time we start a meeting, go on service projects together, and mostly when we eat together on retreat. We’re just this huge,”

“Crazy,” Caroline interjects.

“Quirky.”

“Very Funny!”

“Loving,” says Cindy as she engulfs Caroline in a huge hug.

“Did I mention quirky already? I mean we’re all different, but we make it work when we’re together!”

Cindy laughs, “Just like a Happy Lasallian Family!”

“How will we ever say goodbye to this?”

“The thing is… we won’t ever have to. We’ll always be Lasallian; it’s something that will stay in our hearts forever.”

Like we say at Loughlin, “Live Jesus in our hearts…forever!”

“Here come the tears!”

“Oh boy, don’t cry! We still have plenty of time.”

“I know but still…” Caroline says tearfully.

“Hey….we should do the call…”

“Right now? Everyone is working in their offices, we can’t bother them.”

“LASALLIANS WHAT’S YOUR…”

“Cindy…no!” shouts Caroline as she tries to stop Cindy from embarrassing her.

“PURPOSE?!”

Caroline sighs, but with a smile, she dutifully shouts:

“FAITH. SERVICE. AND COMMUNITY!”

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Bandigan is the Lasallian Youth president and Rene is the Lasallian Youth vice president at Bishop Loughlin.