I think it is amazing the connection I have made with the land of Israel in the last 7 weeks that I have been here. It does not feel like I have only been here for seven short weeks, it feels like I have been here for one. It also feels like I have been here for a lifetime. I have done so many things on this program that I have longed to do for many years. I have also been given new levels of freedom and Independence that I do not have at home. When I go home in just 10 short days oh, I will reflect on this journey as the best two months of my life. This program has let me do everything that I have wanted to do and more and has completely exceeded my expectations.

A little over a month ago I set goals for myself and for my journey on this program. From my goal blog, I wrote, “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.” I am happy to report that I have been able to achieve this goal. The Israel history class that I am taking during these two months has taught me to be attentive and learn and really love what I am learning. This is not only because of my amazing teacher, but this is also because I am very interested in the material I'm learning. My teacher makes sure that each part of the material is as interesting as the next, and I love that about my teacher.

I also took part in a public speaking Workshop that is part of the IMPACT Fellowship. This taught me to learn from others and shape my skills into something that I would like to see in the future. I did come into this program with a few leadership skills because of extracurricular activities, but I am happy to report that this Fellowship has given me skills that I will be able to use for the rest of my life.

Another topic that I wrote about was my academics. My goals read, “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.” The teachers that I have had in the General Studies section of this program have been incredible. Although the time that we have together is relatively short, we maximize every minute and I feel like I have learned exactly what I would have learned at home. I feel like it has been better here because we have not as much time, which means that we learn just the material and we do not deviate off topic at all. I also wrote in my past blogs about my Israel studies class, especially the red pill vs. the blue pill. 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 now think about this analogy whenever my classes or life get hard and I made my final goal to choose the red pill in what I do each day and try to pursue knowledge while making this once in a lifetime experience one that I will never forget. I would like to say that I have chosen the red pill throughout this experience and I will continue to have an amazing time and choose the red pill with ten days I have left.