International LIFE Pages of the 89th Grand Board of the Aleph Zadik Aleph and 69th International Board of the B'nai B'rith Girls Kate Reinertson | Page 2

Kate, you went to Perlman?
This question haunts me. A small piece of my non-existent soul shriveles up and dies at the mere thought of these
words, and yet this sentence has become my signature. I will forever be the girl on I-Board who nobody knew until
elections, the girl whose future co forgot she was in his blueprint (this led to an interesting conversation at Board
Retreat), and the girl who didn’t go to Perlman. And damn proud of it.
I stepped off the bus in Starlight, Pennsylvania with one goal: to have a good time and meet some cool people. Coming
from Evergreen Region #46 makes cracking your way into the International Order quite a challenge. I was accompanied
by one other member of EGR, a couple acquaintances from CLTC since my best friends didn’t continue with
International BBYO, and a whole lot of anxiety about the five weeks ahead of me. But just like when I stepped into my
first chapter meeting or regional convention, I knew that the only way to feel comfortable is to relax and have a good
time. And thus:

Lesson #1: The best way to be successful is to enjoy what you do
A lot of people ask me what I did at Perlman that left me unnoticed, but still gave me the network I needed to be
successful this year. Well, I spent my five weeks having fun, learning a bit about myself and not getting caught up in the
craziness. This is the same mentality that helped me survive the most challenging year of my life. At the end of the day,
if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, then you won’t do a good job. So search for that silver lining, remind yourself of
the teens that depend on you, and surround yourself with good people.
However, it is true that I didn’t create some name for myself. But, here I am, writing my International Life, and thinking
about how far I’ve come from sitting on the steps of Dorm 4.

Lesson #2: BBYO is meant for the underdog.
My story should be a prime example of this. If you take one thing away from my life, it’s that you have the opportunity to
impact the Order and the Jewish community in whatever capacity to you want to.