The first time I walked into the Hebrew Lab, I was amazed by how many children were milling about—with only one rabbi to satisfy their many needs. It was no wonder she needed my help. I began volunteering at the Jewish Collaborative of San Diego, or JCo, in the fall of my sophomore year. Every week, I drove to the synagogue with my younger sister, who was preparing for her Bat Mitzvah, to help kids prepare for their B’nai Mitzvah. Having received the honor and responsibility of becoming a Bar Mitzvah myself, I knew the beautiful feeling that came with continuing such a long-lasting Jewish tradition. However, I also knew the hard work involved, so I wanted to help make the experience as enjoyable as possible for the kids at JCo. From my experience tutoring in math, biology, and chemistry, I knew that I genuinely enjoyed helping people learn. At the synagogue, there was always one boy who reciprocated this eagerness more than any of the others. At JCo, I had the chance to be part of this boy’s growth. When I first arrived, I taught him mnemonics to remember the difference between peh and feh, two Hebrew letters. By the time I left, I was helping him practice the tropes of the V’ahavta—one of the most difficult prayers to learn. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I continued to help my sister prepare for her Bat Mitzvah at home, where we rehearsed the prayers and Torah portion I once taught her to chant. I also helped her write her Torah portion interpretation, yielding many thought-provoking discussions on the roles of social pressure, sacrifice, and forgiveness in our lives. I hope that, through my mentorship, I am able to make children's learning experience fun and meaningful as they embrace their Jewish heritage.

Out of twenty-eight teenagers, only one other boy and myself were labeled with the analytical “Green” personality type. One would assume the two of us viewed the world very similarly, but that could not be farther from the truth. As a Staff-in-Training (SIT) at Camp Mountain Chai, a Jewish summer camp, I met many people with perspectives very different from my own. In particular, my fellow Green frequently challenged my point of view with his unique take on life. The fundamental rift was our beliefs about morality: I believe that the right action is that which maximizes the net well-being of all individuals; he maintained that one’s own well-being is inherently more valuable. When I argued that tribalism is not necessarily moral, he countered that a tribe that initiates conflict with another is justified because protecting one’s own kin is the top priority. While I believe that emotions stem from a combination of internal and external factors, he pressed people’s buttons to observe their emotional reactions, assuming they had complete control over them. I responded to this challenge by learning. I learned that the only way to get this SIT to consider how his behavior affected others was to turn my suggestion into a conversation that interested him; for example, exploring the motivation behind using or not using language that bothers others. But most of all, I learned that I can maintain my own convictions and still enjoy spending time with people whose perspectives differ from my own.

For over eight years, I have been an avid tennis player. I have always loved singles for its capacity to get the heart pumping and the pure one-on-one competition. After competing in SSV tournaments, I proceeded to USTA. Recently, however, I discovered my knack for net play and penchant for doubles, competing in mixed doubles at a casual, high-level tournament. There, I was reminded of one of my favorite parts of the game: trailing 0-3 and then mounting a comeback for a 7-6 victory. However, a dramatic comeback is all the more exhilarating when you have a team at your back to cheer you on. Thus, since freshman year, I have been part of my school’s tennis team, which has provided me with countless amazing experiences, from competing against players way out of my league at CIF to winning all five mixed doubles sets to pull off a 9-8 win. But my favorite part of the team is the practices. As team captain, I get to run practice every Monday, where I am rewarded when I see my plans put into action and team members genuinely enjoying themselves. I will often modify drills I learned at tennis clinics across the county to target specific skills, resulting in games like “dingles” with two points for winning with both players at the net. Tennis brings together competition and community, fire and fulfillment, to immerse me in an experience that has brought me more joy than I could have asked for.

“This club is a thinly-veiled support group,” a member observed near the end of a discussion about the malevolent artificial intelligence Roko’s Basilisk--quite possibly the least comforting topic I can imagine. I founded Life, the Universe, and Everything in my sophomore year. I have always loved pondering and discussing subjects that I find meaningful, and I wanted to share this love with others. I sought to fuse the intellectual and the emotional, exemplified by the moment shared during our conversation about Roko’s Basilisk. The club initially consisted of just a few friends who came primarily to support me; however, it now has over thirty members who genuinely want to connect with others who share their passion for philosophy and psychology. This mindset has created many opportunities for club members to grow as people, and I have been so happy to witness and aid this growth. During one discussion about habits, a friend who struggled with working up the motivation to undertake stressful tasks expressed gratitude when I shared my strategy for altering the emotions associated with certain activities. Another member used to be relatively closed off and often resorted to humor to avoid deep conversations. Over the course of the club, I have seen him come to embrace his interest in intellectual thought. As I have come to better understand the symbiotic relationship between thinking and feeling, rationality and connection, it has allowed me to become a better leader, inspiring club members to improve themselves and the world.

When you find out what the real world is like...

"The only thing keeping you from being happy is the belief that you are alone." - Anna Draper, Mad Men. I first heard this quote in a TED talk by Kalina Silverman, titled "How to Skip the Small Talk and Connect with Anyone." The talk was sent to me by a friend closer than almost anyone else, despite the fact that he lives over 1,000 miles away. In her talk, Silverman described a relationship of hers similar to the one I share with my friend in Seattle, a relationship that inspired her to start her "Big Talk" initiative, fostering deeper connection across the globe. The quote, and Kalina's story, motivated me to take some initiative of my own, driven by the core belief that no one is alone in their experiences and the path to happiness is to share these experiences with others. I started small, sharing the TED talk with my creative writing class and then pairing up my classmates for some "Big Talk" to facilitate vulnerable conversation. I posed various discussion questions, including "what are some of your strongest morals?" and "what do you want to do before you die?" The experience gave me a newfound sense of confidence and closeness with many of my classmates. Then I began to think bigger. In sophomore year, I founded my own club called "Life, the Universe, and Everything" for discussing philosophy, psychology, and anything else of personal significance. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the world went virtual, everyone felt more alone than ever. However, I continued my weekly club meetings and, at the first meeting of junior year, I asked the fifteen or so club members to discuss Anna Draper's quote. Thanks to my amazing club members, the conversation was even more meaningful than I could have imagined. We examined how humans are social creatures, how shared experiences are inherently more enjoyable than isolation. We explored the importance of gaining perspective from others to understand that we are not alone and that things will get better, and club members shared personal examples of times when one kind comment from a friend completely flipped a situation on its head. We even analyzed the neuroscience of connection, discussing the "love hormone" oxytocin and the sense of flow, or of being on the same mental wavelength as someone else, that comes with endorphins. "The only thing keeping you from being happy is the belief that you are alone." This simple, powerful quote has truly changed my life for the better. It has taught me the importance of connection, whether it be with a single close friend or an entire room full of people. It is easy to forget this truth, to become swept up in the isolated grind of homework and college essays and, yes, scholarship applications. But whenever I am swept too far away from those I care about, so far I am no longer happy, I always find myself coming back to one clear realization: I am not alone.