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When You’re Our Age, You Have Nothing

JL;DR SUMMARY This reflective narrative explores the complexities of friendship, competition, and identity among high school seniors navigating college admissions. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

IdentityEnvyFriendshipJewish CommunityImmigrant ExperienceCompetitionAdolescenceCollege AdmissionsHigh SchoolFuture Anxiety

Places mentioned

Nassau County, New York, United States
"Odelia was a long jumper, one of Nassau Countys best."
Columbia, New York, United States
"Did you ED Columbia? You would definitely get in."
New York, United States
"I walked Odelia back to her house on the other side of town while she cried and squeezed her elbow."
Israel
"At first, when Odelia immigrated to the U.S. from Israel in sixth grade, she went to a Jewish private school."

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Cairo Item ID 71808
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Retrieved 2026-01-03 05:30:19 UTC
Curated 2026-01-03 08:30:23 UTC