I am currently attending Brooklyn College. Aside from all the work I get, I feel like it's still my summer break and I'm going to go back to BHI soon. I like the freedom of college and the ability to start making your own decisions and do what you would like to do. I like the different people and cultures. I think it's healthy to see different kinds of people and not only see one type of Jews. I should probably get a job, but I am a little lazy so I don't go and look for one, but hey, I guess I still have time. I do not know exactly what I will major in yet, so I am just taking the cores and testing out the field I might want to go into, psychology. The problem with this field though is that it is very difficult to find a job and it is a lot of schooling.
WHEN I THINK OF BHI…
Sometimes I sit in class and memories rush through my head of moments my friends and I had during the school year. I miss the "Jewish lifestyle" of BHI. I did not lose touch of my Jewish self yet and I don't plan on doing so but I still feel like there is something missing, something empty. I also miss the sheltered feeling and knowing that no one can harm you. In a sense we were away from the "real world" and that was a good thing. BHI is just not something you can forget. I think that everyone who graduates takes with them something that changes them in life, whether religiously or just morally.
ADVICE TO MY FELLOW ALUMNAE
Stay true to yourselves. See if you're the same person you were when you left BHI. Even though it's only been a month since I started college, I know I've changed. It's not easy in the real world, you get influenced and you don't even know it. I don't realize the things I say sometimes until someone says to me: "Marina, what are you saying?"(No, I don't curse). You're human and no one expects you to be perfect, but if you're not going up, then you're usually going down and going back up is harder to do when you've fallen, but it is always possible. Think about what you wanted as you were walking out of high school with your BHI diploma, and stick to it!
