I might have a small problem, and I’ve received too much help in trying to solve it. I have one last article and too many ideas I want to include. It's been difficult to put all my thoughts into words in a way that I love.

This will be my 30th article in The Shofar, and I still remember how nervous I was about my first. It has been a long journey since that moment. This newspaper has seen me grow from a 14-year-old high school freshman to a first-year college student.

As I look back and try to describe what it has meant to me, I find myself hitting a wall. Nothing can fully explain my love for The Shofar. Trying to explain it feels like describing a flavor or a feeling—easy at first, until you try, and nothing makes sense. After trying to write how I felt over and over again, I believe I’ve finally figured out how to explain it: by recommending that you try it. I got the recommendation to join Press Corps in my first year in BBYO, and I am forever thankful for that. It’s one that lit a fire in me that I didn’t even know existed—one that changed something in me. But I didn’t change alone, not only because of time, but rather because of this space and the incredible people who built it.

Thanking someone is a way of showing how their actions impacted us. First, Abs Levs and Jason Calderon, thank you for being amazing mentors. As my first EIC and my first co in BBYO, you showed me how fun this could be. You put up with me and my way-too-many texts. You taught me and helped me grow what is now one of my biggest passions. To every single one of the correspondents from Hub E 2022–23 and Hub B 2024–25, editing articles and helping some of you was a core part of my time in Press Corps. Thank you for helping build a space like The Shofar during those two years.

Why don’t we do a lot of things alone? Probably because we can’t, but also because we get better when we have someone to help us. Jen helped me understand what a good article looks like, how to help others, and how to be patient in a journalistic space. I believe her lessons are a key part of why I was able to be in a leadership position back-to-back. It’s because I knew I had a staff member willing to jump in and support me. She was one of the first I asked for help with the Israel articles, and even if that meant extra work, she jumped right on. She helped shape the space that gave me purpose during a difficult time.

After four years, I can confidently say that Andrea is not only an incredible mentor but someone who will always try to help. We seek people like her because they teach us what we don’t yet know and help us become better. Andrea was the person I turned to during this year of D’var Torot, during summer Press Corps, and any time I felt confused. I think she knows how much of an impact she has on teens, but I don’t know if she imagined that after four years of feeling like I was bothering her, I now know that working with her was one of the best experiences BBYO gave me. I learned about accountability, organization, and how to laugh during what sometimes felt like an obligation—but was always, first, a way to have fun. It’s incredible that I leave BBYO a completely different person, largely because of Press Corps—and that means, largely because of her.

The problem wasn’t what I wanted to write. The problem was that I didn’t want this opportunity to end. This is my last piece as a correspondent, and while it doesn’t define my time, it does come with the twist of me saying goodbye and thank you. The Shofar has surprised me, made me happy, and helped me grow as a person and a leader. More than that, it’s been a space where my thoughts became ideas, where I met friends, and after four years, I’m excited to keep up with it as an alum.

I know the problem was never this article. A real problem would have been never getting this opportunity in the first place. Take advantage of it. The problem of having a last article is a nice problem to have, because it means the experience marked you, and The Shofar did that to me. I won’t try to do the impossible—my love for The Shofar is way bigger than any article I could write and impossible to describe. Just know this: if it turns 100 this year, it’s because so many teen correspondents loved it. Do you want to be part of that history? Know that it comes with having to say goodbye, but the experience will make it so that it never actually matters, because you will laugh, learn, and it will go by fast. I am sad it's over, but I am even happier that it happened.

Submitted with undying love for the journalism team, mentors, D’var Torot, New Amsterdam, actually telling the news, Zionism, and every single article I wrote and edited, I will forever remain Gal Rubel, a damn proud correspondent of The Shofar.