I love being Jewish because it is about learning and passing along tradition. Every year, my family gathers around a long table for Passover. We say our prayers, we sing songs, we play games, and have traditional food that has been carried on and shared for generations. I always look forward to matzah and charoset and my Bubby’s homemade matzah ball soup. These foods and song shave been tradition for years and we still carry them out to this day. After the feast my Pop-pop would hide a stack of matzah and all the children would go and find it to get a prize.

As my bat mitzvah draws closer and closer, I’m getting very excited, but have struggled with balancing homework, softball and studying for the big event. Balancing all of these has taught me time management and organization skills going forward.

For my mitzvah project I focused on my love for working with kids, my love for food, and helping the less fortunate. I served the homeless at King’s Kitchen, which is a nonprofit organization that lets volunteers serve meals to the homeless in Charlotte. When I was serving these people I knew that I was helping them in so many ways without judging them. I also did some mitzvahs with Lilly Fitzgerald. We played with kids at Adopt a Block through Dream Center. Adopt a Block is a project that lets volunteers interact with kids and adults in neighborhoods that are less fortunate than ours. Seeing children’s faces light up as the volunteers gathered them to play games in the park and seeing their smiles, their want to hold hands and to be held made me feel like I was making a difference for once and making a positive impact to a child’s life for the better. Lilly and I also prepared a meal for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House. This made me feel like I was making it easier for the families with children in the hospital. With all the stress of having a child in the hospital I feel I have made their lives at least a little bit easier. While participating in these mitzvahs I got to interact with the people that were less fortunate than us. I got to be a part in their lives and make a difference. I got to play with children that don’t get the time to play with their families. I hope in the future I make time to continue in these mitzvahs.

I imagine my future as a Jewish adult to be hardworking and educational. I want to continue learning the Hebrew language and soon become fluent in this language. I want to travel to Israel and see all these important destinations that I have been learning about for years. In the future I plan to continue in my mitzvahs and attend services during Shabbat, high holidays, and future bat and bar mitzvahs.

Cameron Sikora is the daughter of Mara and Brian Sikora. She is the sister of Megan Sikora, and granddaughter of Molly and Mark Ballow in Sarasota, Florida, Deborah Sikora in Travelers Rest, South Carolina and Jerry Sikora in Buffalo, New York. Send messages of mazel tov to Cameron.