If I Had To Do It Again, What Would I Change?
By Aurelie Niddam, Moishe House Paris Alum
Moishe House Paris opened in 2014. I did not know where this adventure would take me or how long would it last, but I dove right in and at the same time stepped out of my comfort zone.
Growing up without attending Hebrew school or any Jewish youth organizations, I always thought there was a gap to fill in the community for people like me. If I would ever find an organization that would allow me to find others like me, I would immediately seize the opportunity to do so. Which I did.
Now that I am on the other side of the fence, (Moishe House alumni and married with children), I can look in the rearview mirror and pride myself with the work we did with my fellow Moishniks. We had a safe and inclusive place to promote new friendships around Jewish content programs.
I thought that my lack of Jewish education would have made me look funny, but thanks to retreats and the loads of resources, I grew within our community. Luckily, I found what I was looking for.
Nevertheless, I cannot help but think about the other community members who have not. We have put so much effort into organizing cool events, helping our attendees to engage with others, etc. But I feel like we could have done more, especially with shy community members.
It is sometimes challenging to make an event go well as we are kind of running the show. I think that shy people coming to programs need to get even more special attention as we might “lose them.” Sometimes I would not feel comfortable engaging in conversation with the awkward people, but I realize that I should have rolled up my sleeves and gone the extra mile.
Maybe I missed a few shots there, but I know better now. I can behave accordingly when hosting MHWOW events or attending other community events. Helping create this awesome community positively impacted lots of people around me, and I also made friends for life.
They say perfect is the enemy of good. However, is it really, when it comes to bond with others?
— Aurelie Niddam
Aurelie is a former Resident of the Paris Moishe House, MHWOW Host, mother, Ambassador Circle Donor and Alumni Board Member. For more information about Aurelie any of the other members of the Moishe House Alumni Board, please check out Moishe House Alumni’s home on the web.
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