Year Course Year Course Closing Speech: Ana Susskind

By Young Judaea

Closing Ceremony Remarks of Ana Susskind, Year Course 2023-2024

How was Year Course everyone?

My parents have always said that there is no true answer to that question. We have been here in Israel for 9 months. Some parts were amazing and some parts were hard. And that is okay. My year was messy and scary but also eye opening and fun as hell. I know i formed life long friendships. I also know that since October 7th there has been a constant sense of fear and anxiety in my brain. But i got through it because of these life long friendships. Never once on Year Course did I feel alone. And yes maybe that was a bad thing at moments when i just wanted some peace and quiet, but overall, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Now, I know I always yap about my YJ legacy but today i promise you will hear it for the last time. My grandparents met on Year Course. My mother, uncle, brother, and cousins all went on Year Course. I am the 9th out of 16 members of my family to come on Year Course. I am the last of a generation. Literally. That’s a lot of weight on a person. To carry on the traditions my family has had for generations and to make it memorable enough to last years until the next gen is old enough to go on Year Course? Crazy. And honestly I don’t know if I did that. But I’m okay with that. I made my own memories. My own traditions. And my own friends. I am not my parents or even my grandparents. I am my own person and have my own story. We all do. Who knows, maybe this is the start of your family’s YJ legacy?

Thank you all for this year.

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