Ah yes, here you are, walking down the main walk of the new campus you are checking out. Hundreds of different student organizations with intricate designs about why you should be a part of their leadership building fraternity or the underwater basket weaving team, when your mother finds it. The place she was looking for all along. She let you talk to that pre-law (or business, engineering, medical, management, etc) group, but her real target was that Jewish booth. Most of them are fairly similar: very jubilant manager with equally excited students talking to you about why you should come out to all the Shabbat dinners. You are assured that bagels and cream cheese will be served at all the events (does that hook anyone in?). You are not sure if your mom and dad are even listening, but they are definitely expecting you to sign up. Why should you anyway? Do you feel that Jewish? I am not the one to answer that question for you, because only you can do that for yourself. What I can say though, is that you should write your name on that piece of paper, even if you don't think you want it quite yet.
When many people come to college, they expect their entire lives to change. New friends, new home, new experiences. I myself have experienced and am still experiencing all of these things. I never thought I would have the positions I hold now, or know as many amazing people as I do now. The one thing that has not changed however, is Judaism. Judaism is the one thing that has been a constant in my life regardless of where I have been. Wherever I decide to go off to, there is always a family willing to invite me over for Shabbat or any of the holidays that happen throughout the year. These dinners provide me a couple things: sustenance and an actual family gathering. Rather than sitting in front of a TV the size of a microwave and eating the cheapest meal I could find, someone actually made food and offered it to me for close to nothing. As a result, I have not gone hungry, and I retain the idea of a family gathering despite being hundreds of miles from home.
The family aspect goes farther than the Chabad and Rabbinical households -- it extends to the student body as well. As a part of a Jewish fraternity and a couple Jewish organizations, I automatically have an immense group of friends completely different from me, yet somehow incredibly alike. Yes, my grandma (not yours) makes the best matzah ball soup you have ever tasted, and yes, I do know the struggles of waking up for Hebrew school every Sunday morning. But no, I do not know your life outside of Judaism. I do not know your life struggles, or what motivates you to be the best person you can be. The incredible thing is that none of that matters. None of where you came from, the color of your skin, or the way that you talk matters as we butcher parts of the dinner service at the local Hillel. I know you because of a belief that you and I share, no matter how small it is. Whether you are cultural, religious, spiritual or somewhere in between, I can talk and have a connection with you almost instantly. This intangible connection fascinates and draws me into Jewish life whenever I seem to drift way.
You may not be convinced at that (enter school mascot here) day that you should be engaging in more religious activities, but what I can tell you is that you have to try. Even if you are not Jewish, the community that you can be a part of is worth a few tries. Even if you just need a meal now and again, being with the people you have spent a majority of your life with holds an unforeseen value. Who knows, you may even find that matzah ball soup that rivals grandma's (but you wouldn't tell her that).