What makes me, me!

First and foremost what makes me me are all of the people in my life.  Over the past 21 years I have been lucky enough experience many meaningful, fun, challenging, and maturing experiences.  While I could sit here and explain how much I learned during my study abroad experience in Jerusalem or how much I have matured as a college student over the past 4 years, I know that what has truly made these experiences great is the people that surrounded me.  I want to start this journal by introducing some of the closest people in my life.

This is my family.  I was fortunate enough to grow up in a very close-knit and loving home.    My brother and sister are twins and sophomores in college.  Even though we don't live at home together we make an effort to stay up to date on each others lives.  Growing up I never thought I'd say this, but my bro and sis are truly my best friends.  

This is my extended family (well one side).  We are in florida celebrating New Years together.  My  grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles have always played a big role in my life.   Growing up we had dinner together every Sunday night.  While we don't get to see each other as often anymore,  we still make an effort to keep up with each other's lives, celebrate holidays, and go on vacation.

Here is a picture of me and my cousins close to 15 years ago! Can you tell which one is me?

These are 2 of my oldest friends.  Our mother's were roommates  in college.  We attended play group, preschool, kindergarten- high school together. We have pretty much gone through everything together, and I can't imagine growing up without these two people besides me.  We are all three the oldest in our families so we all had a very similar experience. Samantha (on the left) is still my best friend today.   Joe (middle) goes to Michigan.  The three of us love to spend time together when we have the opportunity.

It was a pretty big deal for me to move away from home.  My brother and sister still had 2 more years of High School left.  Luckily I was able to quickly feel at home freshmen year when I was introduced to the sorority Alpha Epsilon Phi.  What I loved about AEPHI was that it really felt like home to me.  Many of the girls had a similar set of values and enjoyed the same type of activities.


While it was difficult at first to be away from home spending time with the girls in AEPHI made OSU truly feel like home.  Here we are on the football field after beating Michigan (I think it was that game).  I think that without these friends I would have never gained the sense of comfort here at school as I do at home.  

While I strongly believe that what makes me me are the people that I have become close with throughout my life, I also want to share some of the symbols and more materialized objects that are important to me and my family. 

On all of our doors at home we have Mezzuzot.  A mezuzah looks like the picture above.  It contains a piece of parchment inside with the Jewish prayer "Shemah Yisrael".   By putting a mezuzah on the door it is fulfilling a mitzvah (biblical commandment).  All of my family members and most of my friends who are Jewish follow this tradition.  

These are two different types of soup my grandmother makes.  The top is Matzah ball and the bottom is Kreplach soup.  Kreplach can be compared to a wonton; it is a noodle with meat inside.  There is a sense of warmth that I feel with every spoonful of my grandmothers soup.  I know how many hours she spends making it and how much she loves to see us eat it together as a family.  

This is the necklace I where around my neck everyday.  It is a hamzah.  I got it in 2006 in Israel.  It was my first trip.  I am sure that there are many interpretations of  the meaning behind a hamzah, but I was told that it is an arabic symbol that is meant to protect you.  I chose this necklace and chose to wear it everyday because I believe it will protect me and allow my family and I return to Israel like we did together in 2005. 

Lastly I wanted to mention something that I love to do:  running.  I know that at an end of a run my mind will be in a different place.  Sometimes I run when I feel distressed.  It can give me a sense of control and allow me to refocus.  Other days I run simply because it is beautiful outside and running allows me to see the things around me at a different pace.  This is a picture of me close to the end of the half marathon I ran in October.  I have also formed a lot of close friendships through running and it is something that I hope to continue doing throughout my life.