Introducing me

Confidence. Confidence is a strange thing when reflected on. A metaphorical fire above someone’s rear end which can make you feel on top of the world when lit, but as soon as that flame fizzles out, it can make you feel buried under the weight of that very world you were once on top of. The strangest thing about confidence, in my opinion, is that it can be found in places where you never think you will find it. If you had asked me 10 years ago where a good place to look for confidence is, you can bet I wouldn’t have said in Skeet Hill House or in the tunnels of Jerusalem or even in my university bedroom on the 21st of February 2021. But that’s the thing, it comes when you least expect it. You might be reading this and thinking (quite rightly so) what is this boy on about? Stick with it though, it will all come together in the end, I promise.

So more about me and less about confidence; for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Charlie Armstrong (or Gozi if you want) and I am the newly elected editor of the Young Zionist. My FZY journey so far follows the path that many have taken: Chavurot, Kesher, Tour, Hadracha, Diller, HadSem, countless Veidot and leading day camp in 2020. In my non-FZY life, I am from Leeds, 18 years old and currently studying pharmacy at the University of Birmingham. On paper, being the Young Zionist editor and a pharmacy student seems like a completely peculiar combination of interests, but once again, some of the best things can be found in the weirdest of places.

Whilst I may not have as much writing experience as the greats of William Shakespeare, Dan Shomron or Dame Jacqueline Wilson, I will try my best! My aim for the Young Zionist is to make it more… more! More writers from more age groups, writing about more content to make the Young Zionist more accessible for more people.

As promised before, I am going to attempt to tie all this together. The reason that both confidence and FZY resonate so much with me is because one simply cannot exist without the other. If it wasn’t for the 2016 version of me signing up for Kesher, I wouldn’t have gained the confidence to be able to sign up for tour, my first trip to another country without my family. If it hadn’t been for all my amazing FZY experiences, I wouldn’t have the confidence to put myself forward as the editor for the Young Zionist and be where I am today. Confidence. It’s a funny thing isn’t it?

So, there you have it, not only did I tie it all together extremely neatly with a bow on top, but I also inspired you without you even realising it! Hopefully, some of you are reading this and thinking about how you can channel some confidence in yourself and step out your comfort zone to write for the Young Zionist. If this is the case, fill out this form.

I can’t wait to see what you can bring to the Young Zionist, and remember, as long as you do it with confidence, it will always be good enough.

Charlie Armstrong