When I think back to IC 2026, I remember a lot of things: the excitement of being surrounded by thousands of Jewish teens, the sightseeing programs, and all the people I met from places I had never been. But one person stands out more than anyone else: Amalia, my best friend from Australia.

I met Amalia during my sightseeing program, when we went outdoor ice skating. Afterward, some of her friends and some of mine went to lunch at a restaurant nearby. We started talking, and almost immediately, we clicked. At the time, I had no idea that a random lunch stop during IC would turn into a friendship that I would carry home with me.

After IC, we kept in touch through social media. What started as a friendship formed during one week in person became a friendship that continued thousands of miles apart. We talk about normal things, what is happening in our lives, and, of course, BBYO. We haven’t seen each other in person since IC, but somehow, the distance hasn’t made us feel any less close. 

If anything, our friendship has made me realize how little distance actually matters when you find the right people.

Before I met Amalia, I imagined that our lives would be completely different. Australia felt incredibly far away from New Jersey, and in some ways, it is. But the more we talked, the more I realized that we aren’t that different at all. We have different cities, different schools, different communities, and thousands of miles between us, but we still have so much in common. We can have the same conversations, laugh about the same things, and understand each other’s experiences. 

A big part of what connects us is being Jewish.

Growing up, I always thought of my Jewish community as the people around me: my family, my friends, my school, the people in my BBYO chapter, Dafna BBG, and the people I see at other Jewish events. IC changed that perspective for me. Meeting Amalia showed me that my Jewish community isn’t limited to the people who live near me. It can stretch across countries, continents, and oceans. 

Having international Jewish friends makes me feel like I’m not alone. There are people all over the world who understand what it means to grow up Jewish, even if their experiences aren’t exactly the same as mine. Knowing that I can have a best friend nearly 9,000 miles away and still feel so connected to her has made the idea of a global Jewish community feel real to me. 

Now, we’re trying to figure out how we can see each other again. Maybe I’ll eventually make the trip to Australia, or maybe she’ll come to New Jersey. We don’t know when it will happen yet, but just having something to look forward to makes the distance feel a little smaller. 

I went to IC expecting to meet people from around the world. I didn’t expect one of them to become my best friend. I think that’s one of the most meaningful parts of being part of a movement like BBYO: you can walk into a room knowing almost no one and walk away knowing that, somewhere across the world, you have someone who feels like home.