[Subject: Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.]
(Parenthetical comments will not be included in the final draft.)
(This is a rough piece. I don't know how to end it, nor how to fill in the gaps. Feedback and suggestions are much appreciated.)
Conventional wisdom paints American life as heterogeneous; Israel is perceived to be relatively homogeneous. I spent my childhood in a Jewish neighborhood near Cleveland, Ohio, attended a Jewish day school and participated in a Jewish youth group. When I was in third grade my mother took a sabbatical in Israel; I encountered more variety in that one year than I did in fourteen years in America. The taste of life that I found in Israel was to American culture what cactus fruit is to corn. (I really wanted to include cactus in this essay.)
I yearned to savor the flavor; bolstered by feelings of national identity, I broached the subject of moving with my parents. After much consideration, we moved to Israel in the fall of 2006. In my naïveté, I had not given much thought to the impact a new culture would have on me. Our new apartment was one-fifth the size of our previous home; and whereas I had been in accelerated classes in my school in Cleveland, I now found myself floundering in school because I was unused to the language. My classmates too were very different from the uniformity to which I was accustomed. Their upbringings differed radically from mine and from each others', and their values were unfamiliar to me. Even the food was new: besides the obvious differences in cuisine, like the abundance of falafel stands and lack of cherry coca cola, there were less obvious but still jarring menu choices. The oranges that my classmates brought for lunch were green.
Despite these obstacles, I was determined to find my place in my new home. I boosted my vocabulary with the help of Hebrew novels and did not let differences stop me from making friends. While I found my schoolmates to be less-than-friendly, I had joined a youth group and auditioned for a part in a community play where I made friendships that have lasted to this day. I joined a debate team, where I learned to defend my own opinion while listening to others'. Volunteering too became a fixture: packaging food for those in need, serving and cleaning in soup kitchens, and helping new immigrants not unlike myself
The process of moving to Israel gave me confidence in myself and enabled me to venture onto new paths of experience. I became a counselor in my youth group, assuming joint responsibility for a large group of eight year olds. The role of instructor, guide, and friend to those children gave me the opportunity to make an impact on their lives, simultaneously teaching me that every voice is worth listening to. Working alongside three other counselors taught me patience and the value of teamwork, especially when we disagreed and were forced to compromise.
I taught myself to play guitar, and to speak Gaelic; my determination and perseverance were tested but ultimately strengthened by the challenge of relying solely on myself to learn new skills. (This needs more. But what?)
Leaving my sheltered life in Cleveland enabled me to broaden and redefine my world view. My life in Israel wasn't always easy, but my experiences provided ample reward. It has been a long journey, and (I have no clue how to end this).
(Parenthetical comments will not be included in the final draft.)
(This is a rough piece. I don't know how to end it, nor how to fill in the gaps. Feedback and suggestions are much appreciated.)
Conventional wisdom paints American life as heterogeneous; Israel is perceived to be relatively homogeneous. I spent my childhood in a Jewish neighborhood near Cleveland, Ohio, attended a Jewish day school and participated in a Jewish youth group. When I was in third grade my mother took a sabbatical in Israel; I encountered more variety in that one year than I did in fourteen years in America. The taste of life that I found in Israel was to American culture what cactus fruit is to corn. (I really wanted to include cactus in this essay.)
I yearned to savor the flavor; bolstered by feelings of national identity, I broached the subject of moving with my parents. After much consideration, we moved to Israel in the fall of 2006. In my naïveté, I had not given much thought to the impact a new culture would have on me. Our new apartment was one-fifth the size of our previous home; and whereas I had been in accelerated classes in my school in Cleveland, I now found myself floundering in school because I was unused to the language. My classmates too were very different from the uniformity to which I was accustomed. Their upbringings differed radically from mine and from each others', and their values were unfamiliar to me. Even the food was new: besides the obvious differences in cuisine, like the abundance of falafel stands and lack of cherry coca cola, there were less obvious but still jarring menu choices. The oranges that my classmates brought for lunch were green.
Despite these obstacles, I was determined to find my place in my new home. I boosted my vocabulary with the help of Hebrew novels and did not let differences stop me from making friends. While I found my schoolmates to be less-than-friendly, I had joined a youth group and auditioned for a part in a community play where I made friendships that have lasted to this day. I joined a debate team, where I learned to defend my own opinion while listening to others'. Volunteering too became a fixture: packaging food for those in need, serving and cleaning in soup kitchens, and helping new immigrants not unlike myself
The process of moving to Israel gave me confidence in myself and enabled me to venture onto new paths of experience. I became a counselor in my youth group, assuming joint responsibility for a large group of eight year olds. The role of instructor, guide, and friend to those children gave me the opportunity to make an impact on their lives, simultaneously teaching me that every voice is worth listening to. Working alongside three other counselors taught me patience and the value of teamwork, especially when we disagreed and were forced to compromise.
I taught myself to play guitar, and to speak Gaelic; my determination and perseverance were tested but ultimately strengthened by the challenge of relying solely on myself to learn new skills. (This needs more. But what?)
Leaving my sheltered life in Cleveland enabled me to broaden and redefine my world view. My life in Israel wasn't always easy, but my experiences provided ample reward. It has been a long journey, and (I have no clue how to end this).
