This is the end, I never thought we would get to this point. Soon I will be leaving the wonderful, Jewish bubble of Israel and return to the currently Christmas filled America. America is supposed to be my home, it doesn’t feel like my home anymore, Israel feels like my home. I’m a new person from when I stepped off the plane in Tel Aviv. My time here has transformed who I am in a way I could never imagine. I now know how to be independent, get along with and live with 37 people, manage my own money and time responsibly; there have been so many new skills I have developed.

Coming here I had a goal to grow as a person, I didn’t know in which ways I would grow, now I can see the differences in myself since the start of this program. I am the most out-going I have ever been. I feel confident to have a conversation with anyone about anything. Besides being confident socially, I’m now much more physically confident and content with my materialistic items. At home, consumerism surrounds me in high school, whatever the newest thing is everyone has it. Here no one cares what the newest thing is because we are hiking across Israel or visiting some amazing place and our classroom is different every day, we have these things to fill our time, not the newest drama like there is at home. I’ve learned that the drama I was accustomed to at home doesn’t matter at all. What matters is our experiences and our journey in life and how we grow from these experiences.

Another goal I had when I came here was to make new friends. I have developed some of the closest relationships of my life. Friendships here are very different than any friendships I’ve had before because you can’t hold grudges, you don’t feel left out because everything is a team effort, there are so many aspects of friendship here that you wouldn’t get at home. One of the hardest experiences of my life will be leaving these friends. I don’t know how my life will be like when I get home with these people because they are such a major part of my current life. I’m afraid to lose touch, but I know I won’t if I make an effort.

These friends are like my new relationship with Israel. If I don’t lose touch with this homeland and keep fighting for Israel maybe I can make a difference. I’m writing my last blog, one of the first of many “lasts” that are going to continue these next few days. As a whole, I have achieved more goals than I could ever imagine achieving.