TJJer Spotlight: Presley Klinger

Yesterday was soooooo much fun. We woke up with groggy faces at 5 am, had breakfast in front of the canyon that we were about to endure, and nervously started walking towards the trail. When I hear the words hiking, I think of trails with pretty views and maybe a small obstacle here or there. But when the first 5 minutes were consistent of climbing over boulders I knew this was going to be a little difficult. Within the first hour we were all practically exhausted but energized by the tunes we were all singing and the next huge obstacle such as slippery rocks, or a tree blocking our path. About 3 hours and 10 water breaks later we found this beautiful freshwater pool with a cliff and a great view. We all eagerly slipped off our shoes and jumped right in. Happily drifting in the water was one of my favorite parts of the day, slamming my toe into a rock and losing a toenail was not. But with my 26 new friends behind me and awesome advisors I knew it wouldn’t ruin my day.

When we were done with our 4.5 hour endeavor we went back to the hotel, sunbathed, showered, and relaxed outside.

Last night’s visit to Katzrim was a very spiritual and eyeopening. We learned out Jewish history, davened in a temple hundreds of years old, sang songs around a bonfire, and saw shooting stars. We learned about how stories, visions, and culture are for infinity and that having a life that is meaningful will make your story live much longer than you. This inspired me to make my life the way I want it to be and to not wrap myself up with things that don’t play into the vision I want to create in the world. I loved yesterday’s activities and I cannot wait for tomorrow.