Going into tenth grade, I had recently finished my first year in BBYO and I made the decision to run for chapter board. I unfortunately didn’t get the position I ran for but was able to slide to the role of Katvanit and win. During my term on board it started to affect my mental health, with a major burnout and starting to become stressed about anything and everything, resulting in losing some of that love for BBYO because I didn’t have as much time to be a super active board member. 

Al finalizar mi mandato, decidí junto con mis padres no presentarme a la reelección, pero quería asegurarme de poder seguir siendo un miembro activo. He tenido muchos obstáculos que me han impedido asistir a los eventos de la sección y a las actividades regionales, pero, a pesar de ello, intento mantenerme lo más activo posible. 

Hay muchas formas de mantenerse activo sin formar parte de la junta directiva de la sección. Una de las que más me ayudó fue presentarme al equipo de periodismo Press Corps. Siempre me ha encantado escribir y ahora me interesa cada vez más el mundo de la comunicación. Además, me dio la oportunidad de conocer a tantos adolescentes de todo el mundo que estoy deseando volver a verlos en el IC.

IC also became one of the most memorable experiences for me. I love conventions so much and not having the ability to go to a regional convention made me want to go to international conventions more. IC helped me relight my flame because for a while I forgot how much I loved BBYO, sitting in the concert area altogether, or Havdalah with teens from all around the world. 

Otro consejo para seguir siendo un miembro activo sin formar parte de la junta directiva es asistir al mayor número posible de eventos de la sección y regionales. Presentarse como candidato a un puesto de responsable te da una idea de cómo sería formar parte de la junta directiva y de las responsabilidades que conlleva.

I have found it so hard this year to coordinate my schedule to make it to everything else on top of BBYO but I am so excited that my little sister is finally able to join and to start going to events. This made me so happy because I want her to see BBYO the same way I did going to my first meeting. 

Being active in BBYO is so important because it can help you keep that love for it and keep you connected with your Judaism. There are so many ways to stay involved whether you are a board member or not and you can do so much with even the smallest role in your chapter.