The group of 14-year-old students sitting in front of me in their class at SSG watched with intensity the YouTube performance of the Slam Poem “Why am I Not Good Enough?” The poem, which went viral after 13-year-old Olivia Vella wrote and performed it as her final 7th grade English assignment at Queen Creek Middle School, explores the insecurities and challenges that teenagers face as they attempt to navigate the landmine of adolescence. The video, which has been viewed more than 21 million times, elicited a similar response from my Hungarian students as it has from students all over the world – heads nodding in silent recognition as Vella talks about everything from body image to grades in school.
One girl in my class revealed that this was the second time she had seen the video, and during the first time she had “cried a little.”
These students at SSG share many similarities with my Beth Tfiloh students. Both groups are bright and engaged, wanting to learn and hoping the teacher will like them. They answer questions earnestly and enter into their activities with enthusiasm. But like most teenagers, they share a universal fear of rejection, of being called out as different from their peers, of not fitting in. Some students admitted that, like Olivia Vellar, they worried about their grades rising too high, not wanting to be labeled a “nerd,” “geek,” or “brainiac.” And yet, like BT students, they strive to earn those grades anyway, recognizing that academic achievement is the road to reaching their goals for the future. They walk a tightrope of wanting to stand out to their teachers yet still fit in with their friends. And this week they are finding the courage to reveal all of that to an American teacher they have just met, visiting from a country that many of them have never seen.
By the middle of this week, 12 Beth Tfiloh students will have arrived in Budapest to share the unique experience of finding common ground with their Hungarian counterparts, to traverse the unsteady bridge between uncertainty and confidence, ignorance and enlightenment, inexperience and understanding. Our students will teach English to youngsters in the SSG lower school and will celebrate Shabbat with their SSG teenage cohort. BT students have prepared for weeks, learning about the country, some of them exploring their own Hungarian family roots, and creating English lessons for SSG 3rd graders. They hope to make this experience meaningful for both themselves and their hosts.
And so, even though my Hungarian students may in some way recognize themselves when Olivia Vella repeatedly asks, “Why am I not good enough?” I hope that in the coming days and weeks they will understand that not only are they good enough, but that they stand out as great in a world where greatness often seems in short supply. I hope that both BT and SSG students will show one another their strengths and share their challenges, making their universal adolescent burden lighter and filling their journey with the joy of adventure and hope.
