Like most students who come to Brandeis, I signed up for many clubs my first year that I never went to. At least for me, however, there were several clubs that I both sought out and remained involved with throughout my time here at Brandeis. These clubs have enabled me to become involved with other students, reduce stress from all my work and explore my own abilities. While many clubs affected me, the two greatest impacts were caused by the Brandeis Orthodox Organization (BOO) and the Juggling Club.
It is very common with the number of Jews and religious people on campus to become involved in some amount of religious activity. For me, I decided to enter into this community and I have greatly benefited from doing so. I have forged many meaningful friendships and discovered a place where I feel that I can practice as I believe. Most importantly, I have found a way to explore my passions and take an active role in the community.
My earliest contributions were my articles in BOO’s weekly publications. This engaged me with my community, developed my religious life and improved my writing skills. I am still a staff writer and occasionally enjoy writing religious articles. While neither journalism nor English has ever appealed to me, I enjoy delving into a religious discourse; I enjoy the process of asking questions to find meaningful answers.
In complement with my writing, I even had the chance to deliver a number of religious speeches. Paired with this aspect of religious involvement, I also became involved with the Jewish Education programs that BOO offers. I took up a subject very dear to me: mussar, or ethics. This topic is diverse and connects with my love for positive psychology. While I heavily drew on Jewish sources, I firmly believe that many of the messages within mussar are universal. Through my involvement in this group, I was able to connect with a segment of the Brandeis community significant to me.
In addition to BOO, I became involved with Juggling Club early on in my Brandeis career. Like BOO, Juggling Club encouraged me to construct meaningful relationships and explore my passions. I recall specifically looking for a juggling club in my first rounds at the annual Club Fair. Since then, I have been a dedicated member of the club and now serve as its president. For me, juggling has become a means of expression and a form of stress relief. I learned how to walk on stilts, pass juggling clubs, spin staff and how to employ standard juggling tricks.
There is far more I still would want to learn, if only I had more time at Brandeis.
While I enjoy the learning and the playfulness of juggling, I truly relish performing as well. I enjoy impressing my friends and simply sharing one of my passions with anyone who wants to watch.
Perhaps my favorite part of Juggling Club is getting and playing with new props. Last semester, for instance, we got glow clubs, which look fantastic—when they work—and are a blast to play with. This semester we are looking forward to getting even more awesome equipment.
Acting as president this year has also given me a significant outlet for my passion. I assumed various responsibilities and endeavors in order to share my experience of the Juggling Club, including creating a new website, launching a YouTube account (BrandeisJugglingS) and performing whenever possible in various venues.
While I would love to reach out and pull other people into the clubs I love, I recognize that each one of us has a different set of passions. The time one spends at Brandeis is a wonderful time to pursue, explore, enjoy and share these passions, whatever they may be.