The Point of this assignment was for me to announce that I'm proud to be Jewish. But I'm not quite ready for that. If I am to announce something about myself to the world, then I am going to really introduce myself. It's about time the world, including you, Rabbi Raucher and Ariel, get to know me.

So who am I? Well, that's a very good question. My name is Emery. I like rock music, intelligent television (which comes from across the pond more often than not), I like to read, and I love to create. I plan to make a career out of writing and to be an artist on the side.

And I'm Jewish. That's how I was raised, and I am proud of that. I might not totally agree with the belief system, but I do totally agree with something else. The Jewish Community is a beautiful thing. I do enjoy coming to Hebrew High every Wednesday, and who can deny the pleasure of a good “bagel with shmeer” every now and again? This community is a part of me. It comes along with the rocker, emotional, deep, argumentative, crazy, book-loving-writer that I am.

People tend to get to know one side of a person, and I am in no way immune to that. My teachers at school know me for my old soul, some of my friends know me for my taste, others for my insanity. And the people I've grown to be fond of at Hebrew High know me for my Judaism. And that's about all they know about me. I think this is a problem to be solved, which brings me to my conclusion.

The world knew Drake, the inspiration of this assignment, for a bunch of different things. First his short-lived time as a Canadian actor, then as a rapper, then as a Jew. He wanted people to know all of him, so when he was given the opportunity to host SNL, he grabbed it. He didn't introduce himself as “Drake the actor,” or “Drake the rapper,” or “Drake the Jew.” When he introduced himself, he was Drake, which came with everything he was. This is how I want the world to be, and I think the Jewish community has the potential to make it happen for itself. We should not be united through our Judaism alone. We should be united through our fondness of each other, while still learning about our main link to one another. This is why I am proud to be Jewish: we have the potential to be closer, and to learn from each other. We can start by learning who we really are. Rabbi Raucher, Ariel; this is me.