2001 - United Synagogue Youth

ShalhevetWheelsby Rachael KaplanA very special bear who lived in the HundredAcre Woods once said, “We will be friends untilforever, just you wait and see.” Nothing betterdescribes a friend that is made on USY on Wheels.Although I participated in this incredible programlast summer, I still wanted to take the opportunityto share the experience. There is not a single daythat goes by that I don’t wish I could be back thereand relive even a single hour over again, because Iknow that there is nothing in the world that willeven come close to the 6 1/2 weeks I spent withsome of the most incredible people ever.USY on Wheels is a trip across the country,beginning in New York and traveling in a circle aroundPhoto by Jackie Topol.the United States for 6 1/2 weeks. You travel on abus with 47 other teenagers, 5 staff, and a bus driver.It is probably also one of the only trips where you will find out what it is like to be a Conservative Jewand be traveling across the country with other Jewish teenagers. You experience Shabbat in sixdifferent cities, participate in rousing ruach sessions, meet kids from all over the United States, and seethe major sights of the country. On top of the amazing places you explore, you also bond with thepeople on your bus and form long-lasting friendships. It has now been over a year since I came homefrom USY on Wheels, and in a lot of cases it has been over a year since I’ve seen some of my closestfriends. Our lives find us increasingly busy, and there is only so much time to pick up a phone and callpeople. But what I have found is that even though a month or two will go by between times that I talkto some of my friends, when we have the opportunity to talk we can talk for hours and feel as thoughno time has gone by.I am grateful for my experience on Wheels. It was one of the best things that has everhappened to me and there are no words that could possibly describe the fabulous experience andhow much I yearn to be reunited with my bus and my friends. Despite the distance between us, ourhearts remain linked forever. I can go on and on, writing volumes of stories. Stories of ten of us pilinginto one seat and having long, deep conversations. Stories of rows of foot massages on the bus, storiesof praying at the Grand Canyon at sunrise, of getting a baseball signed by every person in the stadiumexcept for the players... the list goes on and on.There is a quote that says “Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay forawhile and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never, ever the same.” The people I met on USYon Wheels came into my life and lived with me for 6 1/2 short weeks. And each one of them, in theirown way, has left a mark on my heart and has changed me, and I will never, ever be the same.22