Alexander Muss High School is a time for you to achieve new goals and set new standards for yourself. When I first started the program, I set goals for myself, some easy and some hard. The goals I set for myself were made to change me into a different and better person, in the sense of here at AMHSI.

When I first set my goals, I made many small goals. I realized that throughout the program, adding up all the small goals made a huge impact on me. I set goals like making new friends and branching out, and within a week I hit that one out of the park. I also set a goal of figuring out my schedule, which was easy once I set a routine for myself. A goal that I am proud of is keeping track of my money, schoolwork and everything that comes in between. When you’re on trips, it's easy to get caught up in the mindset of Muss and forget all the responsibilities and schoolwork you have, but I am really proud of exceeding this goal.

My main goal overall during this trip was to learn concepts here that I cannot learn back at home or anywhere else but in Israel. Being able to learn the history in chronological order, AND then go to the sites where it actually took place was the part of this trip that really made me think “wow am I lucky to have this experience.” I have really taken advantage of the opportunity of using the outdoors as my classroom. I didn't realize how much the trips were going to impact me on so many levels other than just learning about Israel, I learned about myself which was a something in the beginning I didn't really think about. I wish I would've set a goal for myself in the beginning to make checkpoints along the way to see how Israel has changed the way I am as a person. I also really wish I set the goal for myself to let loose a little more, enjoy the time I have here instead of worrying so much about my upcoming test or writing every single little note down. I definitely did take in every sight, smell, sound and pretty much everything around me. In the end, I really feel that setting goals in the beginning was a good way for me to feel out the way of the program, what I wanted to achieve both personally and academically. I have fallen in love with this country just like I knew I would. I am so thankful I put in all the effort towards my goals.