Discovering Jewish Potential in the New Year by Freshman Mia Fredricks

    For Rosh Hashanah this year, I was in a sort of predicament on whether or not I should go home. Most people were driving home with friends or family to attend services and spend time back at home but I didn't really want to. I had returned to Houston the previous weekend for the opening Texans game and thought it would be a waste to drive home again. So I told my mom I'd just go to services in Austin and she was fine with that. Some background info: my family is apart of Congregation Beth Yeshurun in Houston. We consider ourselves conservative but in reality, we only go to services for high holidays and bar/bat mitzvahs... Soo, I consider us almost-reformed. Personally, I've never had a problem with this title since I was the kid that dropped out of Hebrew school right after my Bat Mitzvah and always begged for another bathroom break at services. However, having gone to the first Shabbat at Chabad with my best friend Jori, I decided I may want to change "how Jewish" I really was.

            I talked to my Momo (grandma) a few days before Rosh Hashanah and explained that I was going to go to services in Austin; she seemed fine with it- at least I was attending services. So I mapped out my Sunday/Monday with my friends. I wanted to try both the Hillel and Chabad services so I attended Hillel conservative services and Chabad dinner Sunday evening, then Chabad services and Lunch Monday during the day. To my surprise, I did not take a single bathroom break during either service and actually enjoyed myself. I'm not trying to insult Judaism in anyway; it is just the fact that I always feel somewhat awkward trying to mouth prayers I don't know. I think what made it different for me this year was the family atmosphere I felt when I was at Chabad. Even though Monday's services lasted longer than I expected, I found myself interested in what we were truly praying for. Suggestion: if you don't know the Hebrew like me, just read the English. You're still praying and you feel more involved. I actually felt the urge to give myself a pat on the back after Monday's services because it was the first time for me to attend a 3 hour services without a break (*take that mom and dad*).           

            I've realized that even though I may not have spent a lot of time in services at home, I've finally found somewhere that feels like home, a place where I'm surrounded by friends and can enjoy embracing my Judaism. So thank you Texas Chabad for providing me with somewhere to call home. I cannot wait for the next four years of discovering my full Jewish potential.