Ever since I moved to the United States from Israel at the impressionable age of 6, I felt like a part of me was left behind even after visiting several times over the years. This trip, however, has led me to believe that all I really needed was more time to fully understand myself and grow a little more. Experiencing Israel on a peer to peer basis is still new to me. Usually, going to Israel means seeing family and being in my own bubble. Having only gone on one other instance where I had the unique opportunity to be the person who knew more than those he was travelling with, I continuously get the urge to reach into my mind and remember things I hadn't thought about in a long time.
Being knowledgeable doesn't mean that all the information is readily available to you 24/7 but Israel is one of those unique places that keep triggering my past memories of growing up and learn about what it truly means to live in Israel. I live in California so I have the proper distance to put life in Israel in perspective yet at the same time, I had lived in Israel long enough to feel a connection that will last me a lifetime. This is the duality I carry on my shoulders every day dealing with my own identity but this trip makes it easier to put myself, for once, into perspective; to reflect on my own life as an Israeli and as an American by sharing these experiences with my peers. It's undoubtedly the one place where I feel like I know myself best and where those around me can understand me, as a living example of someone from two different worlds, better than ever.
-T.B.D
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