Thinking Outside the Box

February 3, 2020
Sierra Kaplan

Queens, New York, United States

Class of 2021

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Throughout our lives, we are told to think outside the box. Whether that be in school settings, with friends, or even with family. However, often we fail to understand the true meaning behind this phrase and struggle to find meaningful ways to apply it. But when 160 teens from Big Apple and Hudson Valley came together for Winter Convention, they finally realized what this meant.

At the start of the convention we had a meaningful Shabbat service and then we welcomed Keynote Speaker and “Survivor” winner Adam Klein. Adam exemplified the meaning of thinking outside the box. The teens were captivated by Klein as he articulated the adversity he overcame with his season of Survivor coupled with his mom's terminal lung cancer at the same time. Having barely any contact with his family, Klein had to get creative to obtain victory for his mother. With enough strategy, endurance and motivation, Klein was able to transcend throughout the competition and eventually take home the title.        

As Klein concluded his speech, he asked all the delegates to raise their hands and then raise it higher. He then told the teens to raise their hands again, adding their individualized spin to it. If we keep this mindset, there is nothing we can't accomplish in our lives. We can be the leaders of this movement, the future leaders of Wall Street, and the trailblazers of the world. According to Klein, anything is possible if we aspire to it. 

Sierra Kaplan is a proud BBG from Kallah BBG #2466 in Big Apple Region #12 and loves to sing.

All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.

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