My favorite thing about being Jewish is how accepting we are. I love how easily Jews open their arms to other people and always care about everyone. To me, becoming a bat mitzvah is something very special in your life. It’s like an official welcome into the Jewish world and it’s such a happy, and amazing time in your life. Although now I actually have to fast on Yom Kippur.

While preparing for my bat mitzvah, I learned that I’m very lucky to have my mom and dad. They have been such troopers in working hard to make sure this thing can still happen and changing so many of their plans and ideas to work around the coronavirus.

For my mitzvah project, we worked with the Bucklers to make masks to give to people. Early in the pandemic, a lot of people didn’t have masks or didn’t know where or how to get them. So we made homemade ones to give out to people. In return, we asked that they donate to Charlotte MEDI, which is an organization that uses 3D printers to make those face shields that some doctors and nurses who treat coronavirus patients wear. We didn’t anticipate this, but now my mom is addicted to making masks all night.

Now that I’m a bat mitzvah, I plan to keep Jewish values in mind as I go through life, and will make sure to pass on what I’ve learned.

Amelia Baron is the daughter of Jeff and Melanie Baron. She is the granddaughter of Larry Perlman (z’’l) and Roberta Perlman of Salem, MA and Zelda and Herbert Baron of Randolph, MA. Send notes of mazel tov.