I would be lying if I said that my year in Israel was perfect; my year abroad had its ebbing moments of loneliness during Passover away from family as well as the frustrations of self-discovery. Yes- there were regrets and “no regrets” times, but I will never in my life be hiking a waterfall or the world’s largest crater while people my age were in university lecture halls, again. My unique opportunities throughout the year, like attending a Navy school and sailing to Herziliyah while on a boat for 3 days, living in an impoverished area to teach English, celebrating Israel’s 61^st birthday on the streets with the rest of the country, participating in every holiday of the year including one where ½  a million people gathered in northern Israel (religious or irreligious, everyone is aware of all of the holidays), hearing speeches from the Prime Minister and other influential political figures, traveling to Greece for spring break, figuring out the bus schedule to travel from one side of Israel to another for a weekend, praying at the Kotel  (Western Wall) at 5 am with thousands of others before the holidays and going on my own to the Kotel any time I wished or to see my matriarch Rachel- and this could have all been in one week!