A 12-hour flight, 5,713 miles, 361,975,680 inches, and a 7-hour time difference, yet, somehow, I'm drawn there. I live on Long Island, New York, which isn't exactly a hop, skip, and jump away from Israel. There's a huge distance between us, Canada, the UK, France, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, and the list goes on. So why do I feel so connected to this place? I've never even been there before, yet somehow, I’m inexplicably drawn to Israel. I never expected it, but my TikTok “For You” page turned into a gateway to Israeli culture, music, and life. Now, I feel closer than ever to Israel—despite the miles, the time difference, and everything else. Everyone builds their "For You" page brick-by-brick, and somehow, I, Sydney Elaina Buchwald from New York, ended up on the Israeli side of TikTok. I mean I’m not complaining. It got me into some pretty amazing Israeli music I never knew existed before this. It has gotten to the point where my friends are complaining that I've been playing Static and Ness and Stilla's songs too much. Those songs are playing in the car, in my Airpods, every possible chance I get. Those songs are way too catchy and have a fun dance that I've seen on TikTok to go along with it. Every video I come across recently is of IDF soldiers doing TikTok dances. I can't help but wonder how. During everything, they remain strong and continue to live their lives. Watching these people who are fighting so hard for a country that shouldn't even be in the situation it is in is truly inspiring. I called up one of my friends the other day and said, “These people are only 2 years older than me, and they are out there on the battlefields fighting for their country, risking their lives, and I am lying in my bed on a Friday night scrolling through Tiktok and eating Chinese food while petting my 2 dogs.” Obviously, while watching these videos, I decided to look at the comment section to see what people were saying. You guessed it; “Free Palestine,” as well as other harsh comments along those lines. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Yet somehow, they ignored it and just kept dancing. I just don't understand how someone so close to my age can be so brave and take on this responsibility, as well as being a normal teenager and living their lives both in real life and on social media.