Over President's Day weekend, thousands of Jewish teens in BBYO from around the world gathered in Orlando, Florida for a weekend of fun, and it's what we all call the International Convention. BBYO is a Jewish teen youth group that spreads across the world, uniting Jewish teens together as one, experiencing what it is like to be in a community that shares the same religion.
Throughout the school year, BBYO and its hundreds of AZA (Aleph Zadik Aleph) boys' chapters and BBG (B'nai B'rith Girls) chapters plan and execute their own events, dances, fundraisers and conventions. Because BBYO spreads across the world, it is hard to unite all of BBYO, but one time every year, we are able to do that at the International Convention.
I attended the International Convention this year for the first time in Orlando, Florida. I've just got to say that it was the most amazing time of my life. I was able to meet with Jews from all across the world, as well as spending time with some of my best friends from my region of BBYO, Greater Atlanta.
Over a course of four days, I was able to say that I have done so many new things and had so many new experiences. The first night (although it took an eight hour bus ride to get there) was amazing. It was hectic getting hotel rooms and getting used to a huge hotel, but I was able to see how amazing and expansive BBYO really is. Multiple inspirational speakers came to speak to us, one being the well-known Scott Rogowskiof the trivia game HQ. He spoke to us about his life as a Jew. Then, the three-brother band AJRcame as a surprise performance with songs like "My Calling" and "3AM," and to be honest, after that concert, they are now one of my favorite bands ever.
There were so many events that happened over the course of the weekend. Everyone chose a leadership lab to complete either on-site of the hotel or off-site. I want to be a teacher as my career, so I chose "Hands-on With America's Education Gap" where we traveled to a local elementary school for underprivileged children and completed a service project with them. It was one of the most amazing experiences ever, because I was able to bond with almost every single student, even though I only spent an hour or two with them. This made me want to be a teacher even more than before.
We also had multiple discussion sessions and learning sessions about Judaism and how we can connect with our religion. Almost once a day we were given the opportunity to choose between different workshops, all of which were very interesting. Some were informational, and others were fun.
What a lot of people were looking forward to were the other guest speakers and concert performers. Some people who attended were Abby Wambach, Olympic gold-medalist soccer player, actor Josh Peck and many more. As the last night came around, I had made so many connections and new friends. That night there was another concert in which Daya, Fetty Wap and Steve Aoki performed. Everyone loved it, and even though it was the last night, it was the most fun.
International Convention introduced me to so many new people and even helped me discover parts of myself and learn new things about Judaism. I had the time of my life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
