Stay Hungry

Dear Readers,
I love this time of year. I didn't really understand the opportunities we are given during the time period of Rosh Hashana-The Jewish New Year, Aseret Yimay Teshuva-The Ten Days of Repentance, Yom Kippur-The Day of Atonement, and Sukkot-The Festival of Booths, before I attended Midreshet Harova five years ago. There, they introduced us to the beauty of the selichot-prayers of repentance, taught us what self-introspection really means, and the pure enjoyment of the holiday of Sukkot-Zman Simchateinu-the designated "time of happiness" in the Jewish Calendar, that follows the intense, serious, and awesome High Holy days. Since my time at Midreshet Harova, this time of the year has been very helpful in mapping out my goals for the coming year and figuring out what I need to work on.
Because I had the privilege of being an advisor on NCSY JOLT(Jewish Overseas Leadership Training) this past summer, my preparation for the time period we are in now, started during my learning experiences in Poland, Austria, and Israel where I was surrounded by incredible individuals with big ideas, who were both serious about life and Judaism. Being back in the throes of real life can be hard after being in a certain utopia like environment for a summer, but it is much easier to do the mundane things in life when you are grounded in values and have a plan of where you want to be going. Having at least a sketch of a plan puts you on a road to somewhere. The uncertainty of not knowing where you are going can be stressful and emotionally draining but this is the time of the year to figure it out. 
My father directed me to an article written by Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm which is the first article that appears in the Yeshiva University Torah Rosh Hashana To-Go packet. I am attaching a link. http://www.yutorah.org/togo/roshhashana/articles/Rosh_Hashanah_To-Go_-_5772_Rabbi_Lamm.pdf. It is worth reading. What is remarkable about the writing is that it was written in 1961 and I deeply connect to the issues he was describing that are still issues today in different forms. For example, Rabbi Lamm writes,
"Confusion is, indeed, the hallmark of our times. We are confused by the daily anxieties of existence, the senseless anguish and the seeming emptiness of life all about us. We are confused by the apparently suicidal inclinations of world leaders who explode atom bombs with no thought to the irreparable damage inflicted upon generations unborn. We are confused by the conflicting claims pressed upon us by the differ in interpretations of Judaism, both those to the right and to the left of us. We are confused by the clash of religionists and secularists in the State of Israel. We are confused by the strange kind of world in which our children are growing up-indeed, by our children themselves, their dreams and ambitions, their fears and piques, their paradoxical, ambivalent attitudes towards us: rebelliousness on the one hand, love on the other." 
Another part I wanted to emphasize was a very hopeful section of the speech. He writes, 
"On Yom Kippur we confess to the sin of confusion: al cheit shechatanu lefanekha betimahon levav. And R. David Kimhi, the great grammarian, tells us that the world l'arbev, to confuse, is related to the word erev, evening or nighttime, because then all is confused and dim. "Confusion is surely, a darkness of the mind and heart. And yet the person gripped in confusion ought not to despair. The fact that it is regarded as a sin means that it can be avoided or voided and banished. Confusion is often a necessary prelude to clarity and creativity. Before the world took the form its Creator ordained for it, it was tohu vavohu-void and chaotic, all confusion. Only afterwards, after the darkness on the face of the deep, the erev of irbuv, did G-d command yehi ore- let there be light-and there was light. Creative thinkers or writers or artists know that immediately before the stroke of inspiration there must be a period of tohu vavohu, of true confusion." 
The words speak for themselves. I hope you learn as much from Rabbi Lamm's words as I did.
    The other person who motivated me to write today was Steve Jobs. I found my daily New York Times alert sitting in my inbox. The subject was "founder of Apple dies at 56." I did a little research and found out that he had unfortunately passed away from cancer. My friend then sent me a commencement speech that he had given at Stanford University in 2005. He was very well spoken, and obviously intelligent, but most importantly he seemed very humble and kind. You could get that sense from the way he gave over his advice at Stanford. I am attaching the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc.
   I wanted to share with you my favorite parts if you don't get a chance to listen or read through the whole thing. But I highly suggest taking some time to listen to it. 
And now for the words of Steve Jobs...
"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something-your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."


"During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have  wonderful family together."


"I am pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle." 


"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma-which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinion drown out your own inner voice, And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.


"When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog...on the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words, "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."
I was really touched and motivated by this speech. I admire Steve Jobs and he will always be remembered by not only his accomplishments that have enhanced our quality of life but he will be remembered by his family who loves him, and for his humble nature that came across so well in his speech.
I learn from people like Steve Jobs and try my hardest to be like them; to work hard in what I am passionate about, to be a family person, and act humbly in everything that I do and accomplish. I will never be perfect at it because it is a life-long learning process but I am thankful that I have the opportunity every year to think about my ways and how I can better them through the process of Rosh Hashana, Aseret Yimay Teshuva, Yom Kippur, and finally our Zman Simchateinu, our time of pure happiness, Sukkot.
Thank G-d for another year. And in Steve Job's words, let us "stay hungry" so that that our individual and collective dreams can be actualized in the year 5772. 

Turning over a new leaf

It has been a very long time since I have written on my blog. I wasn't sure how or when to start up again.


My last post was about Rambam and the very last days of its existence. Now, the immediate pain is gone. Everyone started at their new schools and are adjusting slowly but surely. Things are different but the anger is gone.
In my family, we are all turning over a new leaf. It was time to start fresh and new without anger and frustration.


In the coming weeks, I will be writing a lot more about my experiences in the summer and how it changed the course of my life plan for the good. But for now, I just wanted everyone to know that the blog is still going strong. 


With the new year coming up next week, this marks a new beginning. Happy New Year to all of you.
May we all be inscribed in the book of life. May this year bring only happiness, peace, clarity, growth and productivity, and may all of your dreams and wishes come true. 

Last post about Rambam

This will probably be my last post about Rambam. Many people have said that they don't really care anymore. It happened and it is over. For me, it will never be over and I will always think about what could have been. As I mentioned many times, I will continue to teach what I have learned at Rambam.

One role model, that I mentioned in my speech, has come out to speak about his thoughts on what has happened. Harry Kozlovsky is one of the great leaders of Yeshivat Rambam and I wanted to share his article with all of you.http://baltimorejewishlife.com/m/news/article.php?SECTION_ID=1&ARTICLE_ID=7155

Press on the link and you will learn a lot. I know I have.

Quote of the day

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt

    

Last stop for the Yeshivat Rambam sign

The last stop for the Yeshivat Rambam sign- Now sitting on our back porch to collect dust.

Picture I found...

Went to the Rambam building for the last time
Bnos Yisroel will be moving in tomorrow
The letters have been taken off 
The big signs on the front lawn have been pulled out of the ground
But I managed to salvage this picture before it was to be thrown out....

Yeshivat Rambam 1991-2011

It's your life

I kinda want to be Francesca Battistelli 


This is a great warm-up song
Before an interview
Before a summer program
Before a date(sorry guys I had to put that one in)
Before a standardized test
Before making a huge decision


I bolded my favorite lines...

It's Your Life lyrics

This is the moment,it's on the line,
Which way your gonna fall,
In the middle, between wrong and right,
but you know after all.

CHORUS :
It's your life watcha gonna do?
The World is watching you,
everyday the choices you make,
say what you are and who your heart beats for,
it's an open door,
it's your life.

Are you who you always said you would be,
with a sinking feeling in your chest,
always waiting on someone else to fix you,
tell me when did you forget?

CHORUS :
( From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/f/francesca-battistelli-lyrics/it_s-your-life-lyrics.html )
It's your life watcha you gonna do?
The World is watching you,
everyday the choices you make,
say what you are and who your heart beats for,
it's an open door.

To live the way that you believe,
this is your opportunity,
to let your life be one that lights the way,

Chorus :
It's your life watcha gonna do?
The World is watching you,
everyday the choices you make,
say what you are and who your heart beats for,
it's an open door,
REPEAT
It's your life,It's your life.

these lyrics are submitted by The M.
these lyrics are last corrected by Krissy McCartney

Sharing songs

These songs were sent to me by my friend studying dowtown at UMB...these are all very inspiring while I sit in starbucks and attempt to organize my plans for next year...

another shout out to my friend studying out in Towson...you can do it! And listen to these songs when you need a pick me up. Or we can just go back to powerplant :)

Keep your head up! Andy Grammer 

Free to be me: Francesca Battistelli 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKSQjSdU8VA

Enjoy! 

Everyone's Zeidy

Everyone's Zeidy

There are days where you act like a crazy twenty something year old; having fun with friends, staying out late at night, traveling, thinking that you have all the time in the world to fulfill your dreams.

While this is a fine attitude on the one hand, on the other hand, we have so much riding on us.

Today is my Zeidy, HaChazzan Yosef ben HaRav Yaakov Aryeh z"l's third yarzheit.

When my Zeidy was alive, everything made sense. Our mesorah/tradition flowed from him and whenever I had a question about Judaism or life, I would always go to him. When asked what true love was really about, instead of giving adjectives, I would say "just look at my Zeidy and grandma. That is true love."  When he passed away in my grandmother's arms three years ago, all those years of Zeidy's teachings became real. We were now the holders of the tradition and had the responsibility of preserving it, living it, and passing it on. 

Pesach will never be the same without Zeidy glowing with happiness at the head of our table adorned in his white kittel; nothing is really the same. My brother made a siyum tonight in his memory for the elevation of his neshama. Zeidy would have loved shmoozing/conversing with all of the bachurim/young yeshiva students that filled our house tonight. His eyes would have lit up when he would find a friend in the room to become his chevrusa for the night. He was once a yeshiva bachur himself but his yeshiva days were cut short because he was sent to a slave labor camp. 

Zeidy could speak anyone's language, he could dance at anyone's wedding. He talked torah, any sugya from the gemara, chassidus, every type of Judaism, music, politics, hockey, and philosophy....name it and he could talk about it.

My friends drove up from Baltimore to attend the funeral which took place in New York. They said, "we had to come to Zeidy's funeral because he was our Zeidy too." He was everyone's Zeidy. He would smile when my friends would come over and he would ask about everyone's well being. He was just so loved. 

May his neshama have an aliyah and I hope he is comfortable and happy, wearing his favorite 

sweater, learning and singing with his father who was killed in Auschwitz, eating his mother and grandmother's cheese buns, and getting into mischief with his sweet brothers who will forever remain teenagers in my mind because they all perished in the Holocaust at the height of their youth. 

Dear Zeidy, I will be returning to Poland this summer. Last time I went to Poland to visit the "grave" of your family in Auschwitz, I was able to call you after the trip to tell you I arrived home safely. You were there to give me a bracha before and after the trip...yisimech elokim kisara rivka rachel and leah...in your Hungarian/yiddish accent; everything sounds holier in a Hungarian accent. This time, I am going alone. There will be no bracha from you. There will be no phone call from you to console me over the fact that there is no matzevah/headstone for your family and the 1.5 million victims who perished al kiddush Hashem in Auschwitz. It will be very difficult but I will channel your strength and faith making sure that they are never forgotten. 

May Zeidy's neshama have an aliyah always, and Zeidy, please know that you are sorely missed by your adoring fans; your grandchildren and everyone who thought of you as their Zeidy. 

The monumental and the mundane

Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook said in her speech at the Barnard 2011 Commencement that, "most of our lives are filled with days we do not remember." 

I think that this line helps define the theme of my blog. Some of my blog posts are about monumental days; days that change or mark something significant in our individual lives, community lives, or the landscape of the world. Posts about Yeshivat Rambam closing (major for the Baltimore Jewish community and the modern orthodox community), graduation, or unfortunately posts about a death in the community. 

But my other posts are about the days that "we aren't supposed to remember." 

The days spent working towards those monumental and "remembered days," or the days just spent living; nights spent with friends and significant others, days spent thinking of the traveling we wish we could be doing instead of studying or working, that precious time spent with family, days spent doing absolutely nothing but staring at our gchat list and facebook news feed (yes I said that out loud! But that is something right?:))

I am sitting in starbucks still finishing my graduate work but in between writing my essays, I am listening to music and youtube videos. This is one of those days that I probably won't remember.

This song has really spoke to me recently. I am sure you all know the song but I ask you to look at the words carefully, I can really relate to this song at this current time and I think you might relate as well. I am attaching the lyrics and song.

There will be more to come! Stay tuned.

For The First Time 

The Script

She's all laid up in bed with a broken heart
While i'm drinking jack all alone in my local bar
And we don't know how we got into this mad situation
Only doing things out of frustration
Trying to make it work but man these times are hard

She needs me now but I can't seem to find a time
I've got a new job now in the unemployment line
And we don't know how we got into this mess it's a gods test
Someone help us cause we're doing our best

Chorus: 

Trying to make it work but man these times are hard
But we're gonna start by drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Sit talking up all night
Saying things we haven't for a while, a while yeah
We're smiling but we're close to tearsEven after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting
For the first time

She's in line at the door with her head held high
While I just lost my job but didn't lose my flight
But we both know how we're gonna make it work when it hurts
When you pick yourself up you get kicked in the dirt

Chorus: 

Trying to make it work but man these times are hard

But we're gonna start by drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Sit talking up all night
Saying things we haven't for a while, a while yeah
We're smiling but we're close to tears
Even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting
For the first time

Drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Saying things we haven't for a while, a while yeah
We're smiling but we're close to tears
Even after all these years

We just now got the feeling that we're meeting
For the first time

Oh these times are hard
Yeah they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me baby

The last word on Yeshivat Rambam

Tonight was the last Yeshivat Rambam Dinner.

I would like to share with you my words from the evening. The text is below and I am 

also attaching the video that I put on youtube. 

My name is Mollie Sharfman and I am a proud Yeshivat Rambam Alumnae

My name is Mollie Sharfman and I am a proud Yeshivat Rambam Alumnae.

There is a page in my Rambam high school yearbook, it was the reunion page.

It was about the future-our 15 year reunion.

It was to take place in this very room in 2021.

Instead of coming to this room in 10 years for my class reunion, I stand before you today-in this room for one last time, saying goodbye.

I grew up on Rambam. I don't remember a time when my family was not involved in Rambam, dedicated to making our school the best place for us.

I did not have to look too far for role models.

My parents Dr. Bill Sharfman and Paula Guttman Sharfman always did everything that needed to be done for Rambam since the beginning.

And they are among the few who stayed until the bitter end.

Mom, especially you - all of your hard work and your passionate advocacy for Rambam will not be forgotten.Thank you for setting the bar so high and being the number one person who inspires me.

I had the privilege to grow up across the street from Danny and Phyllis Sykes. Danny and Phyllis: my entire life, I watched as you individually an as a team fight for Rambam. Please know that I was watching and so were your children and you are our role models. We will carry on what you fought so hard for. I always look forward to coming home because of the annual friday night visits by Adriane and Harry Kozlovsky. Harry Kozlovsky, thank you for always being positive for your children and for us, and working so very hard. Adriane, you act with grace and dignity and always take the high road. Your dedication and love for Yeshivat Rambm knows no bounds. For all that you do and continue to do-you should have a special zechut. I would be remiss to not mention Roz Goldberg who was irrefutably the driving force behind the foundation of Rambam.

When I am a parent one day, I hope to be as good of a person as you all have been. I will never forget what you all have done for Rambam, for our community, for your families, and for me.

I also want to wish mazal tov to the Meyer and Yehudit Shields and Dr. Steven and Melanie Fleisher who are being honored here tonight – you too are examples of passionate dedication to Yeshivat Rambam and the community.

So, how has Yeshivat Rambam influenced who I am today? .

It is just part of who I am. 

Yeshivat Rambam prepared me for both the religious and secular aspects of my life. 

It taught me to work hard, to be the best that I can be and that  it is okay to fulfill my dreams(thank you Mrs. Gray for believing in me. Whenever I have to face an obstacle I don't think I can overcome, I say to myself but Mrs. Gray said I could succeed at A.P Chemistry-I can do anything!) 

Yeshivat Rambam gave me the tools to succeed in life, to be a proud Jew and stand at the front lines of the Jewish community and the greater world. 

As a college student, I majored in Jewish studies and English Literature - I love to sit and learn in the Beit Midrash but I also love to read Chaucer(thank you Mrs. Cohn)

But the most important thing that I learned from Yeshivat Rambam was to be involved and committed to the Jewish community. 

Rambam instilled in me the responsibility of being passionate about a cause and not being afraid to act upon it. Some say that dedication to passion and idealism is just a passing phase. But I know that for me it is different .It is a part of the fabric of who I am .  And that was first learned and cultivated right here. Right here in this very building. In this very room . So many times on this very stage. (for anyone who was around-the hills are still alive with the sound of music!) Right here at Yeshivat Rambam.

While I was at Rambam, the high point of my community involvement was America Eats for Israel .  As high school  students, we put Rambam on the  map by  raising  $32,000 for Almagor – the Terrorist Victims association.

During my college years , I spent my summers and my winter breaks interning at Yad Vashem,  participating in community service programs, and leading youth in leadership training programs across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Israel.

This past June, while I was on a Jewish youth mission to Germany, I stood in front of Martin Luther's 95 grievances in Wittenberg, Germany.

All I wanted to do was call my 7th grade history teacher, Mrs. Laurie Austen - the history that she taught me so long ago was now coming to life!

And it is not just me.  As a student at Yeshiva University, I made an interesting observation -   every  community service or Israel action program is populated by Yeshivat Rambam graduates. 

No wonder why.

Not bad for a small school from a small city.

We have made and are still making our marks as leaders locally, nationally, and in Israel.

I really hoped I would be back here in this room in 2016 for my sister Arianna's graduation from Rambam but instead I will have to go to her graduation in an unfamiliar school, in an unfamiliar room, surrounded by unfamiliar people.  

I will not be able to greet and hug my teachers because I will not know them.

My friends won't be standing by my side.

It has been very hard on everyone: but all of your hard work, the hours of trying to find a way to keep Rambam afloat  was not for naught and will not be forgotten.

And to my teachers – I am what I am because of you.

To the Senior Class of 2011 and to all of the students who will not graduate from Yeshivat Rambam – always carry yourselves with pride dignity and confidence.

Be proud to defend yourself and your school -  there are people out there like you who came before you -  like me.

We are still a family and we will tell the world who we are because nothing has changed...this will not break me...

I am still Mollie Sharfman a Yeshivat Rambam graduate who is proud. 

GRADUATION SURVIVAL GUIDE

Graduation Survival Guide

“The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…

...I will dispense this advice now.”

(Baz Luhrman in the Sunscreen Song)

Okay. So no one told you what to expect or how you are going to feel in the weeks before graduation, finals week, on your graduation day, and the after effects. Graduation is the commencement, which means it is the beginning of your “real life.” Whether you worked hard or didn’t work hard, whether you have regrets or you are happy with every decision you made in college, whether you got into the graduate school you had been dreaming of, or got rejected (politely of course) from every school in which you applied, whether you got your dream job, or you are currently unemployed for the upcoming year, whether your life is in perfect order right now, or if your life is in a (wonderful) state of chaos…

DON’T THINK ABOUT THOSE (MINOR) DETAILS RIGHT NOW while adorned in your cap and gown. You are a college graduate! That is something major, important, and a major milestone in your life! Smile and be happy!

Here is my survival guide to graduation. If you have anything to add please write in the comments section! I would love to hear what you have to say.

1)Celebrate this milestone the night before graduation (unless you are finishing a last minute paper to fulfill that 0.333 credit to graduate! Get some coffee and stay in the library until you are done). Celebrate the night of graduation, and celebrate the weekend of graduation in whatever way you like to have fun.

Here is what I did: I went to an engagement party the night before my graduation(??!), ate Golan, and then did an emergency fix on my friends graduation gown(you know who you are J). We were going to go out and celebrate but we never got around to it….my advice: get around to it!

2)On the day of graduation: look your best! Walk with confidence and let your family take all the pictures they want. This is their day too. They are so happy that they have forgotten that there is a day after graduation. All they can think about is the graduation itself and how proud they are of you (and themselves for helping you get here). Remember to thank them. They don’t even mention the future because they are too wrapped up in this precious moment. This is a great thing for us “unfinished twenty something’s.” But don’t get too excited because everything will come back to them in the car ride home or that weekend…their memory lapse will have been just a brief moment in time…so enjoy those few hours of bliss! (Love you mom and dad!)

Here is what I did: I got a haircut the day before graduation. Bad idea. My hair stylist was not in that day so I had a random lady butcher my hair and it did not look good under the cap. “Don’t fix what ain’t broken” the day before graduation. Don’t make any drastic changes for these pictures! They will be hanging in your house forever!

3)Sit with your friends. Graduation is long and you need to have people to converse with(and make fun of everything that is going on). I was very happy to have two good friends by my side. We had a blast! The rest of my friends were staying a super senior year and are now graduating! Congrats to all of you! It is also important to have a very witty sibling texting you from the audience. Thanks sis! 

4)Fair warning: you might be disappointed by the speeches at graduation. It might be different this year and they might be really great, but in case you are disappointed, have no fear. I am giving you links to my favorite commencement speeches.

You might not listen to them that night but listen to them over the next few weeks when you are mulling over what just happened to you…wait…I graduated? Go to your nearest favorite coffee shop that has wifi(starbucks!) and listen to them. Trust me…they are worth listening to.

Hillary Clinton at Barnard College: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFv1XlFwwRw

J.K Rowling at Harvard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkREt4ZB-ck

Ellen Degeneres at Tulane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JccudODwwY

Sara Besnoff: Student Council President: Barnard College

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS1CqQW32SE

This last one by the Barnard student council president really spoke to me and I would ask my Stern friends’ (you know who you are) to take a look at this one. All of my Super Senior Stern College Women who sat with me in my women studies classes, in the caf, the beit midrash, 35^th street, lectures, events, 3^rd ave in the later years discussing everything under the sun, growing into ourselves together, while having the best time. This speech reminds me of us and what we did at Stern College for Women. I am so proud of all of you and your accomplishments. I can’t wait to see your research published, your name with an MD, PHD, JD, MSW, CEO, DMD at the end, the future Professors, the future lawyers, writers, dentists, nobel peace prize winners, Jewish education reformers, yoatzot halacha, GPATS, future OU directors…I can go on and on. Our dreams will be actualized…I can already see it. All of your hard work will pay off.

4)Enjoy all the mazel tovs. You will get a lot of congratulations and mazel tovs in your hometown's, especially in synagogue. Act confident and smile a lot. Enjoy the moment. We will deal with the future after the weekend.

4)READ UNFINISHED TWENTY SOMETHING READING MATERIAL: Now for those of us unfinished, or those of us with some things worked out and other things not worked out, here is some good reading material to let you know that you are not the only one in this stage in life. We are our own stage of life. We are legitimate! It is called “the emerging adult.”

What is it about twenty somethings? This one is a little heavy http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22Adulthood-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Follow up article: glorifies the twenty something: How to be a twenty something:thoughtcatalog.com/2010/how-to-be-a-20-something

And something you might need months after graduation….http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/on-spiraling/

But for right now…don’t look at number 4, that one is for later. Enjoy your graduation! Right now is your time to shine! And there will be many other shining moments in your life and this is a big one.

Hope this helps J

And…

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2011!!!

23 year old self upon Graduation Day

Finals week bring out a lot of anxiety. I have seen this every year during my college finals. I think one of the reasons for this is that finals mark an end. When finals are over, it is time to leave and pack up for the summer. The year is now over. If you are graduating, this is it for your college career. You find yourself trying to hold on to those last few days, even if they are the most stressful with 2 finals and paper due on the same day. I remember sitting in the Stern library with my new navy blue Stern College sweatshirt savoring the last moments of college life. There is just something romanticized about the life of a college student that doesn't go with you when you graduate onto "real life."  There isn't anything romanticized about paying rent and finding a job. College is that time where you are finding your independence but you still get to be a kid. 

Finals bring out a lot of nostalgia, tears, reflection, and stress. Endings are hard. Transition is also hard. 

But with each transition, we get better at it. We know what to expect. We have an idea of what is coming.

I too am going through a reflection period because I am leaving the halls and dorms of Beren Campus but I am having trouble finding the right words to put everything together. Hopefully I will be able to find my own words soon. 

A lot has happened in the past year but a lot has yet to happen. 

In a lot of ways I have changed alot since I received my diploma in Madison Square Garden last May with my friends by my side, but at the same time nothing has changed. 

It is a frustrating time. It is a weird time. It is an exciting time.

When I have trouble finding the words, I look to my friends for their insight on life and it is usually a lot better than mine. Here are two different people graduating and reflecting on the past, present, and future. They would like to remain anonymous to you and to each other and I think the anonymity will help us connect to them on an even higher level. 

Dear YU,

As graduation nears and I prepare to leave your hallowed halls
I've taken notice of the fact that I stand taller, think harder, and have become the woman everyone always knew I could become.
In exchange for all that, I have left behind a small piece of my childhood which will forever be buried within your walls.
I know that I have forever been changed by you, and that I cannot take back that piece of me
so please take care of it since I know that it cannot accompany me to the real world
But I know
that one day down the line
I'll come back to visit
and I'm going to look for that piece of me that is still here


Sincerely,
My 23 year old self

Dear 23 year old self,

Phew! It has been quite some time. Yes, it's been quite some time since you've done some introspection like that. After three or four years of hard work in school, who can find time for that? I totally understand. Finally, upon graduating, you have looked, sought, analyzed and delved into yourself... to look for me.

And you should know that I've been here the whole time. I've been with you since the beginning, and please G-d, I intend to stay here until the end... yah that includes after graduation. I've been with you during those elementary school days and I'm still here. I've been with you through those rough and awkward adolescent years and I'm still here. I've been with you for those post high school years, and I'm still here. Do not feel discouraged because I am a part of you that never leaves. Sure, bits of me will be shaved off, but my core will remain within.

When we go back to visit YU, it will be like old times again. The inspiration will elevate me to your forefront only to share with you in those childhood memories.

But we're in this together. We're in it for life. I'll be here right where you left me. Just come back and visit a little sooner please.

I'm still here.

Sincerely,

Your Piece Within

These two graduating seniors do not know each other. But they have one thing in common. They are going through a similar transition.

This reaffirmed the power of writing for me.

Thank you 23yearoldself and YourPieceWithin