Artifact 1

For my artifact I chose a picture of apples and honey. This picture is significant to me because it represents my Jewish identity, and how it has adapted since I have arrived at Ohio State. I grew up in a Reform Jewish family, and it has always been a huge part of who I am. I grew up in a very diverse area in Northern Virginia, but  the Jewish population was not very extensive. However, I have always been very proud of my Jewish heritage, and spoken a lot about it all my life. I was a big member of my synagogue and Sunday School from first grade all the way through sophomore year of high school, and continued going there through graduation. My temple always felt like an inclusive space, and I always felt welcome there.

Since being at Ohio State I have found new ways to express my Jewish identity. So far, in the Mount Scholars Program alone, I have met more Jewish people than I had in my high school of 2,000+ students. This has been super cool, because a lot of us are able to talk about and relate on things a lot of people do not understand. I have also become active at the Hillel Center at Ohio State, and am partaking in a fellowship there, and I have learned a lot through it. Lastly, my Judaism had adapted as well. I have always gone to the high holidays, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, at temple every year for as long as I can remember. These are the two most holy days in the Jewish year, and they are our new year and day of atonement. One of the trademark things of Rosh Hashana, the new year, is apples and honey, which is meant to bring in a sweet new year. This year I was unable to make it to temple for the first time in a long time, but me and a couple other Jewish people I met here did something special: we did our own Rosh Hashana. While we did not do a service, we ate apples and honey, educated others on the holiday, and celebrated our holiday. It was something really special, and something I will remember it for a long time.

Artifact 2

For my second artifact I have selected a picture of my computer. This computer is meaningful to me because it is very symbolic of my college experience thus far. Since March of my senior year I have had to attend classes online, both synchronously and asynchronously. The biggest significance in this the past couple months has been the fact that I have not experienced any other version of college. The entirety of my college experience so far has been through the screen pictured. This has caused me to learn to adapt to this challenge, and has taught me to become more proactive about doing my work. Since getting to college, I have had to account for myself 100% of the time, and virtual classes have definitely taught me this through trial by fire.

Another facet of my artifact I have chosen is what is on my computer screen. On my screen is a word document with my “lesson plan: part 1” for my legacy week project through the Mount Scholars Program. Legacy week for Mount scholars is when we break into different teams (poverty, environment, health, global, education, and abuse) and each team facilitates two service projects in their area to help better our community. The team I am on is team Environment. Over the past couple of months I have become very involved in the planning of this project, and is my teams main communicator with one of our organizations, Green Columbus. This project has already taken so much work, and it is something that everyone is hoping will go well, as we try to inform the greater Columbus area about the negative affects of illegal dumping. While this project will only go so far for all of us helping make it happen, we are hoping our project has a lasting effect that benefits the community around our beautiful campus.

Artifact 3

For my third artifact I have selected my singular tattoo that I have. This tattoo is of the character Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, and it is placed on the inside of my right ankle. The tattoo is made up of stitch holding a hat in his hands, and also has a safety pin placed on his left ear. The tattoo in its entirety is really meaningful to me, and has multiple deep meanings. First off, I have a cartoon character from my childhood on the inside of my right ankle to honor my dad, who has a tattoo of Underdog (a tattoo from his childhood) on the same spot. Next, the exact character was picked because of what he stands for: Ohana (family). Stitch symbolizes all of the family you have, both the one you are born into and the one you get to pick during your life. This is incredibly meaningful to me, because I have close friends who I consider to be parts of my family. The hat he also is holding happens to be Woody from Toy Story’s, which is another character I loved from my childhood. Lastly, he has a safety pin on his ear to symbolize more personal aspects, because it is part of a tradition I had when I competitively danced for 8 years.

This tattoo was something I wanted for so long, because it symbolizes so many aspects of my life that I hold dear to me. While getting it was a bit controversial to my Jewish identity, I ended up deciding that it was meaningful enough to me to put onto my body. I wanted to be able to be able to put something on me that I was passionate about, that also was a way to show my father and friends how impactful they were on my life.