"Define Yourself"

Know who you are and what you WILL become, not what you MIGHT become. Start by realizing where you came from and what your values are. The following was written as a report for school by a great friend/family member of mine, Joseph P. Sabzehroo....Enjoy.

PERSONAL IDENTITY
As I was growing up, there were a few roles that helped make me who I am today. Skateboarding, music, and my school, TAB, which is short for Torah Academy of Brooklyn, were what I feel were major factors in shaping the man you see before you today.
When I was started skateboarding everyone in the Community hated it. The “Community” refers to the Syrian Jewish Community of Brooklyn. “Geographically speaking, the Syrian Jewish community of Brooklyn — 75,000 strong and growing fast” (Chafets). We are a community of 75,000 Syrian Jews, residing mainly in Brooklyn, NY and Deal, NJ, although there are several other small enclaves worldwide. Florida is another place that we go to during the winter. Together as a community we go to Florida for Passover and spend it together in the same area known as Turnberry Isle, which is in Aventura, Fl. We all go to the same synagogue and recite prayers and eat traditional Passover food with all our families together.
I started skateboarding when I was around 13. The Community all called my friends and I skaters, as if we were bad people, or punks. Because I cared so much about what the community thought of me, I stopped skateboarding when I was 15. I became more involved in other things, such as school and my music. I got very involved in my school in both and academic and a religious sense. I focused mainly on my Judaic Studies to the extent that I spent time in Israel, studying abroad. I spent 7 months studying in a Yeshiva there, opening my mind to the wonders of our sacred Torah, and all its’ teachings.
Music was, and still is a passion of mine. I play the guitar, something I started doing when I was about 14 years old. I joined a band, and we are working on writing our own original music as well. Music is a very important part of our Community, although not necessarily my kind of music. The Syrian Community uses music in their daily prayers, as a way of expressing joy, and as a means of celebration. I hope in some way, to continue this tradition, by making music of my own. I look back at the songs I sang a child, Arabic words, in melodies tunes, which I try to incorporate in my musical styling today.
Music has helped me get thru a lot of hard times as well. Whenever I got depressed or unhappy, for example over a girl or a fight with my parents, I’d just play some of my favorite music, listen to the lyrics and try to apply them to my life, and help make myself feel better.
I recently started skateboarding again. Its really hard for me to get back on the board and do all the tricks I used to do but I’m trying. My friends advance faster than I do and while this annoys me a little, I think it is because I’m more out of shape than them. I’ve been reading about exercise and getting back into shape, and hope skateboarding can help me with that.

Skateboarding is kind one of my main hobbies. As my friends progress I record their new tricks on camera every day and upload them to my computer. Once the videos are on my computer I can cut and edit them, as I like too to make my video. We are currently trying to make a huge video so we can send it out to big skateboard companies to try to get recognized and possibly sponsored. We would also like to have some kind of footage to show our children some day. Skateboarding taught me discipline. When there is a trick that I can’t do, I do it over and over until I get it right. It takes me a long time to land a trick, however after a while I do get it.
I started going to TAB in 11th grade. Before that I was home schooled for 3 years. Being home schooled is not easy. I didn’t have friends to hang out with everyday. A teacher from the Board of Education would come to my house everyday for 2 hours a day for 3 years straight. After my academic studies of home school I would have nothing to do but sit around and play my guitar. Once I got into TAB things changed. I suddenly started making new friends and started to socialize. The teachers at TAB and the friends I had there all shaped my personality that I have today. The teachers taught me the way of life and how to be a religious Jew and follow the ways of the Torah. I have great respect for the teachers at TAB. It is a small school of about 100 students and most of the kids do not pay tuition. The teachers that teach barley get paid because there are so little people paying tuition that there is no money to get paid with, however they do have a love for the students and the students share that mutual feeling. The teachers at TAB and the students are all friends on a personal level, to a point that you could talk to the teachers about anything and they will always be there to guide you and help you with hard times. Most of the friends I have today are from TAB.
My friends are like family because were all taught the same way. I sat down and spoke with my principle and asked him a couple of questions. One of the questions I asked him was how he got us all to have love for one and other and he replied, “Love your neighbor, like you love yourself” (Rabbi Dovidowitz). My friends and I take care of each other, we all have a certain love for each other like brothers that grew up in the same family. Because we did grow up in the same family, and our family was TAB.
The roles that made me who I am today, could be very different from the roles to come tomorrow. Everyday is a new experience and everyday we take on a new role in my life. Hearing a new song, landing a new trick on my skateboard, or learning something new from my high school teacher. These are all roles that changed me everyday for the past few years and will continue to change me. I will always change, and everyone will always change. People never stay the same, and we have the important roles in our life to thank for that.