It is my first time in the land of Israel

I write to you from Hod Hasharon Israel, after many months of hypothesizing how this experience would change my life, it is finally here. I dream that this experience will be one that I feel fulfilled from and can reflect on and say it was one of the best experiences of my life. I dream of the tiyulim that we will embark on as a class and the incredible experiences that will come from them. Before I dream about the terrain, sunset, and landscape of the Eretz Yisrael (One of the terms I have learned in my amazing CORE class) I must reflect on my personal and academic goals for my time at Alexander Muss High School in Israel. It is my first time in the land of Israel, so the only things my mind can feast on are the preconceived notions that my peers have given me on this land, along with my parent's impressions on this land. I went into this experience with an open mind, trying to block out the preconceived notions that my peers have and forge my own path into Israel. I did come into this experience with some leadership skills from my extracurriculars, but I would like to fashion myself into a leader that is able to deal with any situation that is thrown at me. I will achieve this goal by being attentive and learning from others so my skills can develop to the caliber that I would like them to be.

AMHSI offers many opportunities from me to complete this goal, like the many noble teachers I have in my classes that I can learn from. Another goal that I have from this experience is to keep up with my general studies classes back at home. One of my main concerns with the program was that I would not be prepared from my classes when I arrive home in the US in 2 months. Being that I chose this program, I do believe that this is possible, though it will take work. This means that I will spend my free time on homework more than going into the amazing town of Hod Hasharon. I will still have fun in my free time, but I will regulate it when I have to in order to keep up with my classes at home. On a completely unrelated note, I want to take the time to talk about one of the things that Learned about in CORE class. First of all, my teacher, Jacob, could be one of if not the best teacher I have ever had. Learning from him is so much easier than at home and I feel like I am learning because I want to and I enjoy going to class every day. The first thing that we learned in class was the difference between the red pill and the blue pill from a scene in the movie “The Matrix”. You may be thinking, “Why would a teacher show his students a scene from a movie to serve as an introduction to the class”. This went through my head as well, but I am happy to report that he was one of the best introductions to the class that I could have received. The red pill symbolizes wanting to know everything that there is to know and having the will to search for knowledge and the drive to find the truths that you are looking for. The Blue pill symbolizes being content with the truths that you know today and keeping your thoughts static to what they are today. I believe that this gave an amazing introduction to the class because if you choose the red pill in class, you are choosing to learn and continue to dig for the answers that the Tanach holds. I now think about this analogy whenever my classes or life get hard and make my final goal to choose the red pill in what I do each day and try to pursue knowledge and make this once in a lifetime experience one that I will never forget.