BBYO has become an amazing part of life, I feel that it has created a family for me away from home. It’s a family and community that I feel comfortable in and a place where I can express myself just the way I am. BBYO has its own meaning, but it has created a different meaning for me. By breaking down BBYO, letter by letter, I am able to find words and phrases that relate to me based on the experiences I have undergone in BBYO. 

Starting with the first B in BBYO, it stands for be extraordinary. To be extraordinary, it means to have a special quality.  Whenever or wherever you are in BBYO no one, I mean no one will judge who you are, as everyone is unique in their own way. At a chapter meeting with your chapter, you can be as crazy as you want, and no one will judge you, they will join you. As you become a part of BBYO you learn to realize that everyone has a special quality, and you learn to develop this special quality. To Be extraordinary, it can mean to do one simple thing, for example, participating in a fundraiser designed by your Gizborit. It’s extraordinary to learn to earn money to support yourself and your chapter. Another example in BBYO would be to take on a leadership spot on the board. You are representing your board and inspiring people on what to do. From participating in a fundraiser for an hour to participating on the board for a whole term year, you are becoming extraordinary every second of every moment. 

The Second B in BBYO stands for brilliance. Brilliance is defined as an exceptional talent or intelligence.  BBYO can lead to brilliance in the future. People from BBYO take their leadership skills that they have learned and use them in the future towards their career path and their journey through college. At IC in the BBG Lounge, we heard from Carly Weinstein. One question asked how she uses some of the leadership traits and skills that she learned in BBYO towards her job. She said that as she had a position twice on board, and she definitely practiced and learned skills in those positions that were beneficial towards her job and even her life. Being a part of BBYO, also in the position of Mazkirah on my board, I have taken many of the leadership skills that I have learned in BBYO and used them in school. The Brilliance of BBYO is that you are able to take the many skills you have learned in BBYO and implement them in different parts of your life. 

The Y in BBYO stands for YOLO, You Only Live Once.  BBYO is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; every chance you get to become a leader, participate in an event, and maybe even run an event, you should take it. When I first heard about running for the board in 8th grade, I was too scared to run, and I regret it. As I got more mature during my freshman year I realized that BBYO is something I want to be a part of til I can’t. When you get scared maybe because there are older girls running on the board, or scared of saying something stupid, don’t be because you only live once! You might not get another chance at running on the board or being more active in BBYO. Don’t be afraid to speak up; someone might agree with you or want to talk about the same interests which could lead to a friendship. 

Lastly, the O stands for opportunities. BBYO has endless opportunities, leading you through a million different pathways. I feel that the opportunities are about anything you want to believe; for example, in the Press Corps, you can write about anything you want. There are multiple different categories that can relate to anything from current events to events within BBYO. There are multiple task forces that talk and handle problems and issues in our current world. In BBYO, you can choose to be involved just at a local level with people within your chapter and region, or you can be involved internationally on committees and task forces with people from all around the world. 

BBYO for me, as you can see, is a major part of my life and has helped me develop into an extraordinary and brilliant person.