Returning to Your Home Away from Home

By Carly Rubenfeld
Binghamton University

"My bags are packed I'm ready to go..." are the lyrics that are ringing through my ears. The truth is, I'm not done packing yet, but mentally I am. I have my checklist of goodbyes set and hellos when I open the door to that college dorm room. It's weird returning to a place that seems so distant to me. My freshman year flew by like a jet plane, and now here I am back where I began last August. It's hard to leave my favorite teddy bear and my wonderful pressured shower, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice for my education. I have two homes now; I have two families now; I have two lives now. I'll never forget where I came from, but if wasn't for my first college year, I would have never realized how far I have come into being a young woman.

People don't realize until they get to college that there is more to life than just high school. I went to a very small Jewish private school where everyone knew everybody's story. But here at college I can finally open a new chapter.

I never thought after high school Judaism would be part of my life. I never thought religion would mean something to me. It is amazing how expressing yourself as a cultural Jew as well can bring about such great social opportunities. Wanting to go to Shabbat dinner at Hillel or Chabad is not something you dread, especially with the feeling of home and good food in your stomach. Jews sometimes forget how important it is to immerse yourself with your people, your surroundings, and with your culture. Embrace who you are.

That's what school has taught me: embrace who I am. I never thought I was capable of doing that. I can show my true colors as a student, as a friend, and more importantly as a Jew. I might not be strictly observant but I know being at school that Judaism is something that doesn't disappear from your life.

My teddy bear might still be at home, but my Jewish pride is still with me. I'm not afraid of who I am. There might be times where I am in the minority or where I am in the majority, but I know that I am a Jew. And that's all that matters to me. Judaism is a part of me; it might not define who I am, but it is a huge part of who I am.

So as time starts flying by at school, I will never forget my first year at college. I don't want it to speed by. I will take every moment like it's my last.

Carly Rubenfeld is from Long Island, New York, where she attended Solomon Schechter. She is currently a sophomore at Binghamton University in New York.

[Posted 8/30/11]