Voices From the Middle East:
Liat Margalit
Liat Margalit talks about traveling and life after high school.
By Liat Margalit
 It
is incredible for me to see just how quickly time goes. Although I'm used to
having an intense life, nothing could have prepared me for the past four months.
Since the last time I wrote, so many events have occurred, and
it feels like I've lived an entire life in this period of time. I graduated
in June. Graduating from high school was a very emotional experience. On one
hand, it marked a new sense of freedom, and on the other hand it marked the
beginning of new responsibilities.
Unlike others around the world who graduate from high school,
my friends didn't go to college. Most of my friends, and particularly my best
friend, went to the army. All of a sudden, this enormous change happens. You
can't talk to your friends on the phone when you feel like it. You can't go
shopping. And if you want to watch a movie, you have to wait for the weekend,
when everyone is home.
Now, I’m realizing how difficult it is to keep in touch,
when all of my friends are spread out all over the country, in different military
bases. The last time we were all together was in June, when everyone gathered
for my birthday.
I was out of the country for about two months after that. I was
a guide in a youth camp in Switzerland, and went to travel in Holland. It was
probably one of the most memorable summers of my life. But even when I was gone,
a part of me was always in Israel.
Unlike most teenagers who travel, I was more concerned about my
family than my family was about me. While I was in Switzerland, two deadly attacks
occurred. I remember seeing coverage of those attacks, one in the University
of Jerusalem, and one on a bus in the north. My older sister goes to the Hebrew
University, and I was so frustrated that I couldn't talk to her. It was so different
watching these attacks from overseas on CNN. In a sense, being away gave me
a different perspective about the events in my region. Although I don't believe
Israeli media is biased, watching the news from an international point of view
was different.
When I returned (and I admit I wouldn't have minded staying in
Europe for a few more months) my life in Israel wasn’t any different from
before. I guess I was disappointed to see nothing positive had happened. I couldn't
call my friends because they were in training, and they were all away. Seeing
my best friend in her uniform, wow, that was something I can't even describe.
Think about it, we're just kids! We just graduated! And all of a sudden you
have this huge responsibility on your shoulders.
Since I'm not being drafted until January, I still have time.
So I work for a local newspaper here in Jerusalem, and I’m volunteering
in my community. My old elementary school asked me to teach English, and I gladly
agreed to do it. I see myself as an adult now, and that means contributing something.
As for the conflict, well, it's been going on for two years. So
I’m used to it. This is the given situation, and all you can do is make
the best of it. Until our leaders open their eyes and see the foolish ongoing
atrocities, we're at a dead end.
It's like living in a movie, yet it’s your life. But it's
not a comedy, it's a horror movie. The worst is that we are the actors of this
movie, and we are being forced to participate. You turn on the TV to see more
tears, pain and blood, and then you simply switch the channel. After all, the
new season of Friends is on.
— Liat Margalit is 18 years old and lives in Jerusalem.
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