When I first joined BBYO, I thought it was just a local group of 15 guys who met up every week to play football on the beach and then grab dinner. I certainly never imagined an international youth group where I would have the opportunity to meet famous influencers, hear from state governors, and meet so many people across the world.

It was an experience of a lifetime for a few reasons, and here is why. First off, I got to meet so many famous influencers, as I mentioned earlier. I had the opportunity to meet Bread Basket, Jordan Mailata, and so many more. Secondly, I got to see Quavo, Natasha Bedingfield, Loud Luxury, and Ian Asher perform live. Based on just reading that, you would think that already is an experience of a lifetime, but it only gets better! Thirdly, BBYO Boulevard made it an experience of a lifetime for me. My friends and I loved to go walking up and down BBYO Boulevard all day, meeting new people across the world, getting approached by random people to be interviewed for a TikTok, dancing to music, moshpitting in the middle to every song, 20 people walking around with a huge speaker all playing different music at full volume, starting random chants, and overall just having the time of my life. To me, I realized that those were the little experiences that made it an experience of a lifetime. There is only one place I can see all of those events happen at the same place at the same time, and that place and time is BBYO. But the most important reason is that I felt a sense of community and grew my Jewish identity. Being surrounded by 3,400 other people who are Jewish gave me a stronger sense of my Jewish community and grew my Jewish identity because of just one reason: they are Jewish. I loved every aspect of IC, and I wish it could not end, but I know I will be back next year in Baltimore.

IC is truly a special experience and something that I believe every member of BBYO should go to at least one time because in the end, they would most likely leave with no regrets.