The Continual Impact of OSRUI on My Life

Instead of writing something profound about being a queer Jew, which I will, often enough, right now I'd like to write about the impact that Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute continues to have on my life. (OSRUI is a Reform Jewish camp in Wisconsin where I spent 10 summers growing up.)

First, the big things:
On the postive side:
OSRUI has influenced the way I think about Judaism and life, and life and Judaism; OSRUI has instilled within me the importance of friendship; OSRUI got me to love and revere nature.
On the negative side:
OSRUI has contributed, if not to my internalized homophobia and transphobia, then to my tendency to prefer passing as straight and cisgendered; OSRUI has persuaded me to wait to go back until its current director, Jerry Kaye, has ended his tenure.

The big things are important, but it's the little things I think of most often.
Shabbat Shira in Port Hall. Rikudei Am on the basketball courts. Playing tennis with Rabbi Hart. The kissing tree (I mean the "conversation" tree). Waking up (really) early for refet duty. Teva chug, media chug, photography chug. The singing tree. Danny Maseng singing "B'shem Hashem" at night during a thunderstorm. Downstairs Sweep (specifically Judaica Bowl). The KILTIE. Oconomostock. Jeremiah was a bullfrog. A little louder. Peanut butter and jelly on the stump. Shimon. Shmulik. Sunrise over the lake. The Migdal, old and new. Shtick.

And the list goes on. As much as I loved NFTY, and as much as I love NUJLS, for good and for bad, I cannot think of a place that has impacted me and my Judaism more than OSRUI.

A long-overdue Post

So, I have not updated in some time. In the intervening period, I have come out (again) to almost everybody, including my parents. My expectations for life after coming out again are many and varied, and some have held true while others became false. I've seen my relationships with others transform, some in a good way, some in a bad way. However, I know I've become more true to myself. I've chosen a new Hebrew name, in addition to my new English name, and being called to the Torah by this name for the first time last Saturday was a powerful, beautiful experience.