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
Somos El Mundo
Brianna Gilmore
2015-08-27
The Saturday before I left, my mom bursts into my bedroom with her phone playing one of my favorite songs “We Are The World”. However, this version wasn’t the original 1985 for Africa, or the 2010 25thanniversary for Haiti. It was called “Somos El Mundo 25 por Haiti”. It was a version...
Read MoreThe Departure
Janet Sebastian-Coleman
2015-08-26
My anticipation for travel has been building up for months, then suddenly the date and time of departure are staring me in the face, shouting “I'm here!”. And I stare blankly back. “You're here? You look like tomorrow, but are you real?” But it must be true for I have a schedule that says “2:30am...
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What’s up, Gabriella?
Gabriella Westcott
2015-08-26
“Oh hey, Bree!” “Whats up, Gabi?” “Hey Bridget, are you the one who lost their phone?” “It’s Libby, right?” “BREENANASSSS!” Although I couldn’t tell you where Bridget or Libby derived from, the amount of different names that have been bestowed upon me this last week is undeniably too many. But it’s understandable. Since birth, I’ve...
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The Bigger Picture
Tatiana Calonje
2015-08-26
I’ve always been a victim to “the bigger picture.” I was going to start this off with, “I’ve always been a victim to the thought of the bigger picture” but it’s not just a thought. It’s a reality. It’s the now. It’s the tomorrow. It’s the when you’re gone and everyone forgets your name. It...
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Questions
Elena Doss
2015-08-26
“ What are you feeling?” / “ Are you excited?” / “ Are you freaked out?” These are the three common questions I have been asked over (and over) the past six months while preparing for my travels to Ecuador. Instead of writing my entire emotional history of the past six months of planning, I...
Read MoreHugo Santiago’s first blog – Blogger #1
Hugo Santiago
2015-08-26
So it’s my last week at the California Science Center-which means it’s my last week of working the job I got to help out with my fundraising campaign! and I feel as if…I learned-but in a completely different way in which I believe was intended. Global Citizen Year’s summer fundraising campaign most likely would have...
Read MoreThe Adventure Begins
Allison Douma
2015-08-25
In wolof the word ndank ndank means “little by little”. This saying is going to be my motto for the year. I have a tendency to want to skip steps, not put in the hard work, but still want to get the desired out come. This year I plan on taking every thing in and...
Read MoreLeap
Austin Nguyen
2015-08-25
A few weeks ago, I stood on the edge of a cliff, 20 feet over the surface of a pool of water. My friends and I had come to a place in Santa Cruz to swim and cliff-jump, and I somehow found myself scaling the rocks, climbing higher and higher until I found myself in...
Read MoreMaking the Grade or Making a Difference
Trina Olsen
2015-08-25
This is a slightly adapted essay I wrote during my first semester of senior year, in a class called Advanced Writing Workshop. I thought it would shed light into my reasons for pursuing a bridge year. Walking down the fluorescently lit hallway of West High School between classes, my chest and stomach feel tight. I...
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Veins of the World
Maria Morava
2015-08-25
As I awoke from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I felt sobered and new. Giving into the dark interstate, I began to grieve the last performance I would likely be a part of for at least a year. Please know I’m not under any illusion that a year is some great lapse of time – it...
Read MoreSome thoughts before departure
Ruby MacMillan
2015-08-25
A friend once asked me to imagine how it would feel to set foot on an earth that had never been touched by mankind. This evoked a vision of an enchanting natural paradise, where all beings function harmoniously with the land that grants them life. As I began to ponder this idea further, I started...
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