Something that is constantly on my mind is the amount of hatred in the world right now. Ever since October 7, people’s hateful thoughts and opinions have risen to the surface. I have lost many friends and people whom I admired due to their actions and the ideas that they have been vocal about. Rather than uniting, different groups have been split apart. 

In the past few months, I have been awoken to the immense hate that people hold within their hearts. While I was on a trip with my mom to New York, the amount of hostage posters ripped down and/or defaced was truly disgusting. Everywhere we went we saw images of children, men, women, grandparents, viciously ripped down, defaced with hateful rhetoric. Just a few short days ago I was in Amsterdam for spring break. While walking, my family and I saw a poster that said, “resistance is justified when people are occupied.” This has stuck with me. I saw hostage posters covered with stickers that say, “Free Palestine.” No matter how hard I try, I cannot comprehend any of this. 

I hate to be negative, but I do not see this hatred subsiding any time soon. This is unfortunate, yet reality. People’s true colors have shined. Everytime I turn on the news, I am reminded of people’s hatred towards us Jews. While hateful individuals hope that their extreme actions will tear us apart, we cannot let them win. 

Together we can overcome any challenges thrown our way.