16 weeks of unknown adventure awaits me. The thought of leaving Washington, which has been home to me for the last fifteen years, fills me with immense amounts of thrill and curiosity. However, I’m also overwhelmed by the fear of the unknown. As much as the mystery of where this journey will take me excites me, the thought of not knowing what friend groups I will fit into, if my teachers will like me, if I get along with my roommates, and about a hundred other questions that cannot be answered until I am actually on the program, makes me very anxious.

As many of my friends and family know, I am a big overthinker. For the last eight months I have been anticipating this program and have created countless scenarios in my mind about what could happen during the four months that I’m there. So, I guess you could say I have a few expectations in mind for what awaits me. One, I dive deep into what my Jewish Identity means to me and how my identity will affect the decisions I make when I return home from the program. Two, making friends will be difficult. As a socially awkward introvert, the friends I have now are extroverts that have taken me under their wing, named me their friend, and I went along with it. I hope that I will gain the confidence to be the first to start a friendship. Three, the friends that I make on this journey will be unforgettable in that when I leave, I will go with so many valuable lessons that they have taught me. I will continue to hold onto these special connections when I’m home, even if they’re thousands of miles away. The friendships that I will make on this journey will be unlike any other, and I won’t let myself take them for granted.

As I briefly covered earlier, the fear of the unknown terrifies me. Upon arrival, I will be greeted with so many harsh changes that will be out of my control, such as cultural differences. I’m very open minded to different cultural beliefs or behaviors, but I’m nervous about unknowingly offending Israelis by my ignorance to their social norms. The last thing I would want is to upset Israelis in their beautiful home and be named as just another benighted tourist. Another fear I have is how difficult it will be to balance my social life with my education. Even though I have been practicing this for the last 10 years of my education since the start elementary school, I’m left without parental supervision to guide me to keep up with my studies. I have confidence that I’ll have strong will power to choose my education over friends. What worries me is that I’ve seen so many college students in the same situation as me. Being away from home and still having an immense amount of work to do, and in some students, it seems like they lose all motivation in their education and other activities. It’s one of my top priorities to consistently manage everything I must do so I have plenty of time for my education, and a healthy amount left for friends and free time.

When I first heard about the Impact Fellowship scholarship from my cousin, I was immediately enthralled. To be given the opportunity to learn and explore in Israel because of this scholarship, there was no question I couldn’t take it up. The Fellowship will provide me with so many amazing experiences while I’m on the program, such as leadership training and workshops on critical thinking, social media, marketing and public speaking. This will create endless possibilities for me in the future as a leader.