Today was the last day of WEP, and I for one, am sad to leave my hosting school of St. Timothy’s. I have gotten so close with the students and staff alike, exemplified by two experiences I had on this final day. One of the admission’s faculty, Mrs., Mitchell, who I had become close with over the two weeks, had asked me the previous week about my Jewish prayer practice. I explained that one of the most integral parts of my prayer practice, and Judaism as a whole, is gratefulness. Every morning, the first prayer one is supposed to recite in the modeh ani. Unlike most prayers, this prayer does not first talk about thanking god, but starts with 3 ever important words: I am grateful. After hearing of my practice, both Mrs. Baird and Mrs. Mitchell told me the following day that in the morning, they had also shown gratitude by simply being grateful for being alive. In fact, Mrs. Mitchell asked me to scan my siddur (prayer book) page for the prayer so she could keep a copy of it to remember me, and the power of gratefulness. As for the kids, the last few moments of my time at St. Timothy’s can be summed up in one word: group hug. As I walked to my car, crossing the playground, the 7th and 6th grade boys who I had gotten so close with over the past two weeks swarmed me in a big group hug. “do you really have to go!?” I’m gonna miss your magic tricks” “I’m gonna miss you” “You better follow me back on Instagram” and many other heart warming comments rang out as I attempted to escape the friends I so unfortunately had to leave. Say what you want, but yo can bet that during 8th grade graduation next year, you will see me at St. Timothy’s ready to greet and congratulate these boys with the same energy and enthusiasm they showed me thorughout these past two weeks. The amount of learning, friendship, faith, connection, and genuinely kind and compassionate people I met over these past two weeks is truly astounding. I want to once again thank Mrs. Baird, St. Timothy’s, and all of the staff and students for being so kind and welcoming to me over these past few weeks. Like Mrs. Baird said as I left, “Don’t be a stranger, you have a home at St. Timothy’s anytime”. Love, Adi