Personal Narrative Essay On Being Jewish

Rachel Dryer

Dr.Fore

TUNI110

13 February 2023

In my later years of middle school, I began dreading going to school. It wasn't the classes or the teachers, instead it was my peers who made attending school a challenge. I remember feeling extremely isolated like I had no one to turn to. Woefully, I was tormented for something I couldn't even control; my religion. Growing up, I thought there was nothing wrong with being Jewish, however sad to say some of my classmates did not see it the same way. Being Jewish was ingrained in me through my devotion to Torah and becoming a Bat Mitzvah. I grew up regularly attending services and Sunday school for as long as I can remember. Before I entered middle school, my Jewish education and preparation

There is nothing more soul-crushing than walking into a full classroom and hearing the clink of pennies hit the ground in front of your feet. My High school was also decorated with its fair share of swastikas “how welcoming,” I thought. Personally, the people who made attending school the hardest just so happened to be some of my friend's “popular” boyfriends. It made me wonder how my friends could condone their ill behavior. Relentlessly I ran to the bathroom, eyes filled with tears, quite often from those specific people. My bullies made me feel little, and my so-called friends condoning their boyfriend's behavior only grew my

It began…I stopped being a practicing jew. I did not attend services, light holiday candles, or say blessings…Unless of course, it was a family event that my parents would make me attend, nonetheless, I would tell no one. Abandoning Judaism brought me far away from God, confidence, and self-peace. At this moment, I had changed so much from the Jewish young woman I once was. Notably, on the outside, I ditched wearing my rose gold Magen David, which was a special Bat Mitzvah present. I have cut ties before over bullying, but I never thought I'd be in a situation, where if I spoke up for myself I would have no friends. I had done it before though…in middle school a friend of mine, or so I thought, put her foot out to trip me in the hallway and yelled “dumb jew.” I was shocked, hurt, and immediately ran to the bathroom crying. Unfortunately, the bathroom felt like one of the only safe spaces at school. I remember trying to muffle my crying in the stall all the while thinking to myself…how could a friend of mine do that to me? Even if she was joking, she took it too