My 14-year-old cousin Maya and I have always been close, even though she lives thousands of miles away in Israel. Fortunately, she comes to visit every year. I decided to interview her to see what our cultures have in common (or don’t) and to learn more about Israel, a place I have only visited a couple of times.

My new family and I made our way down the cracked sidewalks of Bat Yam, heading toward our new home. Our madricha (female counselor) was telling us about our apartment. “It’s on the fourth floor,” she said. My longtime friend and now roommate, Jonathan, blurted out, “That’s going to be so annoying to get to on Shabbat when we can’t take the elevator.” She paused and then said: “It’s going to be so annoying every day.

Are you fearful of the challenges that lay ahead of you in college or worried about the stress you’ll face in the coming school year? While these and many other feelings are rational and normal concerns for a teenager to have, consider this: Toward the end of September, 18-year-old Josh Pankin will be traveling to Israel to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), committing himself to three years of service to protect the Jewish homeland.