If I had to sum up the first Montreal
Diller Teen Fellows workshop in a single word, I would choose the word “name.”
Of course, I’m glad I’m not faced with such a monumental task, as there was
really a lot that happened over the
span of our four-hour meeting. It almost seems careless to just choose a single
word—it feels like I’m neglecting so much of what happened. Nonetheless, names
were a significant part of our first day as Diller-ites. Anyone who has participated
in a group activity with strangers in their life (that is to say, everyone
ever) is presented the daunting duty of memorizing everyone’s names, and
familiarizing themselves with their group. As someone who is awful with
name-memorization, this is often my least favorite phase of being in a group.
Thankfully, it’s the one that’s over with the fastest.
I think I’m speaking for the majority of
our cohort when I say that the first icebreaker was borderline uncomfortable. I
mean, that’s not in any way a bad thing,
it’s to be expected. So much of what this program is about is stepping outside
of your comfort zone and growing as a result. That being said, I felt awkward
doing them for the first little bit. I quickly got over this feeling, as, I
feel, did everyone else. After all, this is a group of people that we’re going
to be spending the next 15 months with, it makes sense to at least know their
names, or, like, play “Categories or Die” with them (I feel like death is a
rather extreme consequence for not being able to name a vegetable under
pressure, but, then again, they’re vegetables.)
Of course, after the games subsided, it was
time to get down to business. Yamit, our coordinator, outlined the basic rules
for our time as Diller Teen Fellows, and, suffice to say, we’re all 100%
committed. There was also time for our 4 potential JC’s— Sarah, Alizée, Max and
Evan—to explain Diller’s 4 pillars: Israel, Tikkun-Olam, Judaism/Jewish
Identity, and Leadership.
We were also given a list of personal
values, and we all had to choose one that would represent what we’d bring to
our cohort and write it on a flag. There were a lot to choose from: kindness,
friendship, forgiveness, creativity, etc. What was great about this activity
was that it showed that each person has something unique to bring to the group.
Each person has his/her own set of values. These values might conflict with
those of other people, but, in the end, that’s what makes for interesting
discussion and growth anyway! If we were just a group of like-minded people
talking about how similar we all are, then we wouldn’t be able to grow as
people. This selection of values was kind of a symbolic “contract,” in which
each person promised to bring their selected trait to every meeting in one way
or another. As long as we abide by this contract, our future growth is pretty
much guaranteed.
But, for today, the biggest focus was on
the identity, or, more specifically, the name. We discussed what our names mean, not only to us, but also to those
around us. For example, my name, Sol, has a lot of different meanings depending
on whom you ask. It could be the king Solomon, it could be the Latin name for
our Sun, etc. But what does Sol mean in terms of who I am as a person? Are our
names accurate gauges for who we are, and how we act? If my name were Herbert,
would I be a different person? I mean, I think I would be roughly the same (I’d
probably be made fun of for it,) but I like to think that one’s name gives
him/her a little bit of their individuality. I really think our names are often
taken for granted, they’re just words that we associate with faces, and that’s
it. But a name can, sometimes, tell you a lot about a person. It can give you
an idea of their heritage, their beliefs, and so much more. While I don’t think
it’s right to tie someone down to their name, (something over which they have
no control,) names are as significant to identification as faces are. We aren’t
born fitting our names; we have to kind of “grow into them” as people. That’s
why I take pride when someone tells me I “look like a Sol.” Because it’s not
that they associate me with the name
Sol. It’s that they associate the name Sol
with me. I’ve made that name a part of my identity, not the other way
around.
Anyway, forgive my rambling. I look forward
to getting to know you all.
By: Sol Azrieli
By: Sol Azrieli
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