Exposing yourself and expanding your comfort levels can change who you are.
Prior to this past Wednesday, the farthest I had been from home was the Caribbean. I am fortunate enough to have gone on multiple tropical vacations, but besides those trips and areas within the U.S., I am extremely unfamiliar with the rest of the world. An opportunity arose to travel to Israel and, of course, I hopped on board immediately. I had no idea what to expect.
Throughout my years of education I was always taught that America is unlike most other places in the world. Regardless of being fortunate, I would have considered myself uncultured and unaware of the different worlds around me. After a 10.5 hour plane ride, two hour bus ride, and a group of 40 people I am always surrounded by, I would say my exposure expanded in the matter of a few hours. I came into this trip open minded to the lifestyle I was going to be introduced to, and ready to learn.
In four short days, I can honestly say that I think I have changed as a person. It may seem over exaggerated and a bit obscene, but being exposed outside of my comfort zone has brought out qualities within myself I never saw. Each new place I am shown and every bit of unique setting has taught me, as well as helped me, define who I am as a person. This trip was definitely far from what I expected, but usually expectations lead to disappointments. I wanted to be completely surprised by whatever Israel wanted to throw my way, and I could not be happier by the shock.
Prior to college, I did not know what it meant to be Jewish. I grew up surrounded by the most diverse group of students and was never truly able to connect with my Jewish background. Yes, I had a bat mitzvah but after reciting my haftorah in English translation, I could not explain what the day was about besides "becoming a woman" and having a party.
University of Maryland Hillel was able to challenge my inner thoughts on religion and self discovery, and gave me the opportunity to attend Taglit-Birthright Israel. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the program, Birthright is a gift of a 10-day free trip to Israel to learn about the history of the country as well as the journey Jews have gone through to get where they are today. This program is provided for all young Jewish men and women to have the opportunity to learn about Judaism and be able to incorporate it into their life in his or her own way. I could not be luckier to have this opportunity, and finally find the underlying meaning of who I am as a person, a Jewish woman and, now, a world traveler.
For people traveling this summer, whether it is locally to the beach, a long drive to another state, or halfway across the world, remember to always have an open mind. My stubborn personality has prevented me from learning throughout my years of travel, and this trip has already changed my views on how to embrace your journeys. Try new things and give yourself a chance to change as a person.
For me, this moment of realization came by traveling to Israel, but it can happen for you absolutely anywhere. If you decide to go on a local day trip this summer, make it unique. Try it all, no matter what interests you, what you're good at and what you think will be the most fun. Ideas I was never interested in surrounded me these past few days, and I could not be more glad that I had the opportunity to learn as much as I have.
