I'm breaking away from my comfort zone

Noah Libson has just started his first year at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he is reading English Literature. He is one of the finalists in our search for a new student blogger for the JC:

Some people would call my adolescence sheltered but I prefer to think of it as ‘special.’ By this, I am talking about the fact that I’m 19 years old, about to start university and have no non-Jewish friends to speak of. To many, this may sound weird and possibly a teeny bit racist, even though it is completely accidental (and also possibly the fault of my parents?).

I have always been outgoing and sociable, but seven years at a Jewish school and 10 years involvement with a Jewish youth movement mean that my social circles have been limited to those of the faith. My decision to take a gap year after I finished school may have been an opportunity to explore the wider world outside my corner of north London, but instead I decided to take a job working for my father (the stereotype makes me cringe as well) and spend five months in Israel with my youth movement.

However, all good things must come to an end, and the bubble is about to burst - I have just begun my degree at Goldsmiths. So small is the Jewish population at Goldsmiths that the incoming President of the Jsoc asked me to come onto the committee before I had even started, to ensure that we had the minimum three committee members required by the university for a society to exist.