Jared' s Personality

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football.blg

If you know me, you know that I’m an avid fan of soccer. I only started playing recently, but it’s quickly become my passion, and I also spend what could be considered and unhealthy amount of time watching professional soccer. I love playing soccer because it’s a really technically based sport, where you don’t have to be extremely strong or tall to excel – you only need to be devoted to practice, and being fast certainly doesn’t hinder you! I like the non-stop action, compared to other sports where there are long breaks like American football, or only some players are active at a time, like baseball. In soccer, all 11 players are constantly running, repositioning, and trying to break past the opposing defense. Playing soccer is something that I hope to do for the rest of my life, and I want to keep improving by playing in college and after college. When it comes to watching sports, I also think that soccer is at the pinnacle. Unlike other spor

Machaneh Bonim Yisrael

For many Jewish teenagers, the “Israel trip” is a staple of growing up. Sometime in their teenage or college years, said Jew will partake in birthright or a similar trip to Israel, to visit the mother country. I was fortunate enough to go on my Israel trip in the summer of 2016 through Habonim Dror North America, my youth movement. During my 5-week trek across Israel, we visited deserts, mountains, seas, and cities. Also during my 5 weeks of Aliyah, my life changed for the better. It’s cliché and I hate saying it, but to put it any way would be an understatement. When I left for Israel, in late June of 2016, I was scared out of my mind. I was entering a new environment with new people. I knew only 10 out of the 100 people that were on the trip, and liked maybe 2 of the 10 that I already knew. As well as this, most of the people had taken their time to get to know each other before the trip, but I was entering as a stranger. The first few days were weird –

Music and Me

I’ve played piano for 10+ years. I’ve gone through multiple teachers, and multiple styles. I’ve played both Classical and Jazz, and am enamored with both of them. When it comes to classical piano, we talk about my forte (pun intended). When playing classical music, I prefer to draw from the Romantic and Modern eras, where the music has more dynamics and fun turns about it, as opposed to the more restrictive classical and baroque eras, which bore me. Grieg is my favorite artist on the classical side of the border. I love how his music tells stories, mostly folk tales and stories about people from Norway. Grieg’s music, through its melodies and rustic soul, shows the passion and uniqueness of life in Norway, ranging from peasants dances to wedding marches. Currently, I’m working on his famous Concerto, and it is both my favorite and the hardest piece that I have ever played. I have been working on it for months, and most likely have months to go before it is perfected, but that effort a

Fasting

Once again, I find myself writing my blog post the day that I am going to turn it in. This time, however, it is not out of necessity – I already have a blog post written. I’m delaying that one, and instead, this week, I am writing about Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur, in my opinion, is the most important and holy Jewish holiday that there is. It is the Day of Atonement – you fast for 25 hours, attend temple for many of those hours. However, when you are not temple, there aren’t many things to do. On this Day of Atonement, I am not supposed to use any electronics, or play any frivolous games. Indeed, I am writing this blog post on a piece of paper with a pencil – a revolutionary idea – as I try not to waste my time today. When I fast, I am supposed to be able to reflect about my sins of the previous year with more clarity. That is indeed true. I believe that fasting is a very good portal to deep thought, and it has allowed me today to make many personal decisions and

Fall Seminar

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting on a bus surrounded by 8-11 th graders. They’re all campers at the summer camp that I’m a counselor at, Camp Tavor, and we’re travelling to the fall seminar for a weekend of reunions, fun, and education about our youth movement. It is, of course, the day that this blog post is due, as I have put it off until the last moment, and now I must finish it by the completion of my road trip. The kids are loud, annoying, and making stupid jokes. And I love them! Being a counselor for these kids, if only for 3 days, is one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had. Even though I’m still in high school, and indeed go to the same school as a few of these kids, they still look up to me as a role model, and as somebody who is an important part of their education. Through Camp Tavor, I am able to take on new roles and responsibilities, and I am allowed to grow as a person. This weekend, I’m in charge of handling the high school freshmen, as I also was over the su

My Name

In class, we were asked to do a short writing on our name – ‘How do you feel about your name?’ I must admit, my relationship with my name is a complicated one, a “love-hate” relationship. On the love side of the metaphorical boxing ring, we have the uniqueness of “Jared.” I am happy to say that I have never met another Jared in my life. That means that I never have had the need to have a nickname, or go by my last name or initial. It may be simple, but it is something that I have always valued – the ability to be the only Jared in the room. When it comes to celebrities named Jared, there aren’t many – Jared Leto is one of the few that comes to mind. That means that I never have to deal with any jokes about my relation to a well-known figure, as I’m sure people with names such as “Harry” (Potter, Styles take your pick) have to. However, outweighing the pros, we have the con on the other side of the ring. The reason why I hate my name, is simply because I can’t pronounce it. I have be