Hi everyone, my name is Romy! The easiest way to describe myself is through random fun facts: I love painting/drawing, my favorite foods are ice cream and pickles (separately, of course). I can read for hours on end, my family is South African, I was born and raised in Boca Raton, Florida, and I attended a small school in a grade of just 38 people. I think of myself as an organized, carefree, positive, adventure-seeking person. I’m the friend that makes color coded lists, helps everyone pack, and brings an extra towel and snacks to the beach- aka the “mom” friend. Sometimes it feels like I live in a bubble, but I make a conscious effort to escape that bubble in order to meet new people and explore new places.
A big part of my life is camp and the community it has provided me. Summer camp was the first opportunity to leave my hometown to be surrounded by hundreds of kids- which was quite the adjustment after attending such a small school. My camp is part of a larger organization, Young Judaea, which has a gap year program in Israel. Ever since I was 8 years old, everyone spoke about this gap year opportunity, so I knew it would always be an option. During my second semester of sophomore year, however, I decided to study abroad in Israel on a different program. At that point, I never thought about taking a gap year since I assumed it would be so similar to that experience. Unfortunately, we were sent home two months early due to COVID, and I knew I wanted to go back to Israel the second I returned home. Once Senior year began, I thought about taking a gap year more seriously, and I felt that it would be the right option for me.
My plan for next year is to attend Young Judaea’s Year Course Gap Year program where I will learn, live, and grow in Israel. I know that this gap year experience will be an opportunity to learn more about myself, help others, improve my Hebrew, try new things, explore many different cultures, and delve deep into the complexities of the country/region. I am so excited for what the next year has in store!
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Wow! I absolutely loved reading your blog. I know that you are going to find everything you are looking for over the course of your gap year, just because of how passionate you seem to be about exploring Israel. I thought it was really cool that your family is from South Africa because that’s where I was born 🙂 Look forward to reading your next blog!
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