My favorite thing about being Jewish is that I’m unique amongst my friends. I stand out and I’m proud to call myself a Jew. It means so much to me that I’m becoming a Bar Mitzvah. I have been looking forward to it ever since my brother had his four years ago. I have a mixture of feeling towards my Bar Mitzvah including, excitement, nervousness, and thrill. I have learned so much about myself in this process and it has helped me discover the different aspects of myself.

I also learned that when I put my mind to getting something done, that I can easily finish it if I
stay focused. My Mitzvah project, which is still ongoing, was when I worked with younger
baseball players. My team practiced with 8 year olds and it was so fun to help teach them the
basics and more baseball knowledge. I got the opportunity to help them field the ball and teach
them how to play infield. I chose this because I love working with kids and I always have a blast
helping them. Their baseball team is now in the coach pitch World Series and I couldn’t be
happier for them. My goal is to keep coaching and helping younger kids develop skills in the
sports I play. I plan to keep learning Judaism and living with Judaism by joining the BBYO
program. I have been looking forward to joining for so long. My brother is in the program and he loves it. I hope that my friends and I are able to join the program.

Andrew is the son of Steve and Laura Newmark and the brother of Scott. Please send messages of mazel tov to Steve and Laura.