Last weekend, from May 9th–11th, South Jersey Region had their spring convention, called Spring Thing! It was so much fun and an emotional, meaningful experience for everyone. Let's rewind…

Friday – Mid-afternoon, everyone met at the local JCC to get on the buses. By around 3 p.m., we arrived at Camp Saginaw—our home for the weekend. Once we got to our bunks, it was time to speedrun and get ready. Shabbat doesn’t only mean a serious, religious time; it’s one of the best parts of the weekend: dressing up and taking pictures with everyone. In just 30 minutes, everyone was glammed up and ready.

We first had our BBG/AZA business meetings, where we watched the candidates declare their candidacy and discussed a few other matters. As soon as that was done, we ran outside—it was time to start pictures! Then we had dinner (shoutout to the vegetarians who can never eat convention meals), followed by Friday night Shabbat services.

After the service, we returned to our bunks and changed into our clothes for the social. We headed down to the lower field basketball court for a super fun and creative around-the-world-themed night. There was food, activities, and games! I love times like these, where you can socialize with people outside of your chapter, and it’s also a time for BBGs and Alephs to bond with each other!

For the last part of the night, we headed to the indoor gym, where the room was completely dark and silent aside from the string lights hanging from the ceiling and the tea light candles making a circle on the floor. We put our phones in the bag sitting at the front of the room and took a seat. As the MITs got inducted one by one, I thought back to myself last year, getting inducted as an 8th grader, and how much I’ve grown and developed within BBYO since then.

Soon enough, it was time for my favorite part of all of BBYO: Separates and Spirit Circle! The Separates that our regional board wrote were amazing, and there were many tears shed. Then we launched right into Spirit Circle, starting with “Identity, Identity,” and ending with “Ronald McDonald,” and everything in between. By the end of the night, our voices were gone, but our hearts were full. We headed back to our bunks to get ready for bed and eventually went to sleep. (Shoutout to Kylie for surviving me pushing her off her own bed at 2 a.m.!)

Saturday – We woke up bright and early, ready for a full 19-hour day of BBYO. My bunk (eventually) woke up and got breakfast. On the menu were chocolate chip pancakes and eggs! For morning energizers, I went to yoga, and it was a great start to my day! Next up was our Saturday morning Shabbat service, singing songs and reciting prayers, and then the Torah service that is completely chanted by members! I love that this is an opportunity we have, and it can work for anyone. I read four lines, but you can do anything from one single line to an entire aliyah! Then we had programming, and my assigned group went to the obstacle course. We got changed for the afternoon and had lunch. First up for the afternoon was Meet the Candidates. We then had a guest speaker, Naomi Schware, who shared her experience serving in the IDF and exploring the world at a young age. Chofesh! We had two hours to do anything, so my friends and I made a game plan. We spent the first hour, from 4:00–5:00, walking around and doing the go-karts they have at the camp, and then the remaining hour, from 5:00–6:00, walking back, taking pictures, and getting changed. Next up was dinner, and then grade-level bonding! For the freshmen, we played a fun activity, and then moved next door to join the sophomores who were playing volleyball. Then we had Havdalah and a Song Session, which is such a moving and meaningful experience—especially if you’re a senior or close with a senior. At around 9, we headed back to our bunks to change for Senior Life Ceremonies. This includes hoodies, sweatpants, slippers, blankets wrapped around you, pillows under your arms, and snacks in your hand. We ran to the room Life is held in and raced for a good spot to view the seniors. We had eight BBGs give Life, and they were all beautiful and meaningful. (Shoutout to Abbie for dedicating her senior Life to me 🥹.) At 3 a.m., it was done and we went back to our bunks to sleep.

Sunday – For our final half-day, we woke up bright and early at 7 a.m. and headed to breakfast. We then went to elections for SJR’s 65th Regional BBG Board, and our N’siah, S’ganit, and Sh’licha were unopposed. For MIT Mom, Mazkirah, and Gizborit, they were contested elections, and in the end, we promptly voted and selected our new board. (Shoutout to Joey, Sarah, Jenna, Eliza, Drew, and Addie for being our new board! [And RIP 64 😥])

We ended our time with grilled cheese and chocolate pudding for lunch and got on the buses to go home.