Everyone I’ve talked to, whether they have been on Alexander Muss or not, has told me that the next four months are going to be a life-changing experience. I believe them. My hope for my time on Alexander Muss is that I will learn and connect to Israel and the Jewish people in ways beyond the classroom or from simply touring around. I love history and I think that knowing where you come from, your people’s history, is a really powerful thing. And while I like reading and discussing, I am beyond excited to get to make the connections and memories myself. Along with learning and memories, I hope that I will make life-long friends with whom I have shared these experiences. 

I am so glad to have found and gotten the Impact Fellowship because, in addition to giving me the opportunity to study in Israel, I will also get to learn and grow in my leadership skills. In preparation to leave for Israel, I just spent today meeting with my “co-leaders” for my youth group (USY) and the Jewish Student Union at my high school. We were doing preliminary work, like planning our first board meetings, thinking of event ideas and setting up plans for how to communicate while I’m gone. I haven’t even left for Israel yet, but I’m already excited to come back to Seattle with all of the new knowledge and skills from the Impact Fellowship leadership seminars to help run these organizations.

Given all of this, I don’t even think that word “excited” really encompasses the emotion that I am feeling, the week before I am to leave for Israel, for the very first time in my life. All of the packing, errands, zoom calls and paperwork, and I still think that there is some part of me that can’t quite comprehend how amazing the next four months are going to be. There are also parts of me that are nervous about being away from home - away from my family and friends, and away from all of my normal routines and systems for school and life, but at least right now, they are overpowered by all of the amazing things I have to look forward to.