Fellow Stories
True gap year stories from Fellows abroad!
Check out the latest blogs from Global Citizen Year Fellows in Brazil, Ecuador, and India!
Category
Class Year
Country
Summer Storms
Sarah Richmond
2014-08-13
It rained today. Coming from Oregon, this really isn’t the most exciting news; but today’s rain was different. It was the kind of rain the grows steadily in the air for days before hand – making your bones heavy and your fingertips crackle with electricity. When the first swollen drops plummeted from the sky, soon...
Read MoreThe Leap of Faith
Elisa Portz
2014-08-12
As I finish up my last days at Watertown High School, graduating, saying goodbye to longtime classmates, I am gearing up for a year different than your typical high school grad. This year I’m taking a bridge year between high school and college. A year for me to gain global perspective, to meet new people,...
Read MoreSteering
Maylin Enamorado
2014-08-11
I am quite a fan of Anne Sexton’s work. Among others, I consider her one of my poetry mothers. She is someone whose words I surround myself with whenever I sit down to assemble my own. When I sat down to write this blog post, I still didn’t have a concrete reason for going to...
Read MoreAre you ready to leave?
Azul Diaz
2014-08-07
Yes, they did give me a packing list, a list of things I need to accomplish before I leave, and a broad idea of what I will be doing for the next nine months. I have checked off items from that list and I have imagined my self countless times doing any sort of activity that...
Read MoreWhy a bridge?
Jessica Chai
2014-08-07
At the age of seventeen, my standing in the world looks pretty good. I graduated from high school this past June. I began my first job. I was even on track to attend my dream school Stanford in the fall. So it begs the question: why am I taking a bridge year? It’s a good question....
Read MoreLet’s Begin
Elliott Aronson
2014-08-07
Insecurity derives from a lack of capability. And as people of the world have proven time and time again, a “lack of capability” derives from nonsense. The most wonderful part about being human is that improvement is always attainable. By constantly improving yourself, you are ultimately making your life easier by becoming more accessible to...
Read MoreAutumn and Spring.
Elias Smolcic-Larson
2014-08-06
As I sit here, with my mouth still hurting after having my four wisdom teeth removed I now know it is time. At the beginning of summer, I thought for sure this summer would last. In early June when I was making my appointments in preparation to depart for Ecuador the entire summer loomed ahead,...
Read MoreMy own trail
Charlotte Reider-Smith
2014-08-04
I’ve always liked to diverge. Rebecca, Abby, and Sam ski on ahead. I plop down in the snow, waiting for them to disappear. I want space to get lost in the snow and the trees. I want to find my own way down the mountain, far from their tracks and voices. I lay back, looking...
Read MoreView From The Top
Jason Child
2014-08-03
I would like to first thank everyone who has helped me during my summer campaign. You guys are great! Each and every one of you has shaped me to become the person I am today. I will miss all of you tremendously. Last week I hiked Lone Peak. It is my favorite peak to stand...
Read MoreHomes Away From Home
Aliana Ruxin
2014-08-03
I’m writing this from my bed at sleep-away camp, putting pen to paper, this time as a counselor, much as I did years ago as a camper on Letter Writing Days. Looking around at my campers, reflecting on the past six weeks we’ve spent here, remembering the previous seven summers I’ve been at camp, I...
Read MoreA Little Bridge Before the Big One
Jane Tobias
2014-08-01
I know it’s coming. I’ve been dreaming about the day I leave for a long time. But someday is different than a date on the calendar. When I’m bundled in bed waiting to fall asleep, walking down the street, or washing dishes in the kitchen sink, snapshots of banana groves, cobble stone streets, and markets...
Read MoreOn Maya Angelou, loneliness, and being the boss
Cierra Bland
2014-08-01
I sat in my cap and gown for the first time- full honor chords, stoles and all- as my friend leaned in from behind to tell me that Maya Angelou had died. Right there in the middle of my Senior Awards Ceremony, stunned by the emotion of the news I had just received, I could...
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