Without knowing what BBYO is, it is hard to step into that first program. My friends had to beg me to join my local BBYO chapter. 

New space, new people, no expectations. But once BBYO sprouted into my life, the fears around those thoughts faded as I was welcomed with open arms by those around me. For a few months, I got to continue experiencing programs, and making new memories with the girls who initially brought me to the start of my “life in BBYO,” and found comfort in showing up every week.

I was able to imagine all of the future programs I could attend, the memories I would make, and all my new connections that would grow. Until, I was told I wouldn't be able to attend another chapter program with those girls again, and was stripped from the community I had just begun to grow into. 

When I was told I had to move to Korea and go to Asia for the first time, I was terrified. I would have to restart: no friends, no family, no familiarity, no connections, and no community to fall back onto. I felt I had been uprooted, and forced to say goodbye to what BBYO could have been forever.

I often like to think of BBYO like a garden. Every individual is a flower, having their own experiences and identity within BBYO and Judaism, each unique in a beautiful way. But once we unite as a movement, we create something so much bigger than ourselves, and our garden of connections comes together, making BBYO so powerful. 

When I first arrived in Korea, I really struggled to find friends, and not having any connections felt really lonely. This is why I decided to not let my opportunity in BBYO fade, but to instead try to bring it with me, and re-pot those roots into fresh soil with new beginnings and opportunities.

I ended up reaching out to BBYO staff who helped me initiate Korea's first ever chapter and join the Asia Pacific Region. But I was now put into the position of having to explain BBYO to new people, convince and excite teens to keep coming back, create chapter programs, and help others understand the wider connection they have in joining with no other teens’ support. Replanting is difficult and stressful to say the least, but getting to create the movement in Korea was empowering. 

When starting a new chapter, it is difficult to find those first few people and convince them to invest patience in growing their identity in BBYO. But once you do, a new mosaic of community starts to form, which has been such a special and fulfilling thing to experience—especially in an area with an already low presence of Jewish teens, and where BBYO is a foreign concept.

Watching my chapter go from four teens to now over 12 and counting has been such a huge milestone in this journey, and getting to feel the joy of this expansion is indescribable. Creating this chapter has given more teens the opportunity to grow their own roots and have experiences in BBYO, further enriching the garden we make up. It has also given me a new feeling of hope and motivation not only for my new life in Korea, but for the future of BBYO’s growth where I am.

I have learned that BBYO can look completely different for every teen in every corner of the world. Yet across those cultures and continents, the connections we build, and sense of belonging we find remain at the heart of our movement. Starting over in Korea taught me that a community doesn't have to grow from familiar roots to become meaningful. Sometimes, we have to plant something new in order to discover the impact it can make.