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
On to Another Place I Shall Call Home
Tenzin Gyalmo
2018-08-20
I grew up calling a two-room apartment my home. As we shifted three more times, I realized that home is where my family is. A family of 5 turned into a family of 7 and just like that my home expanded. My friends make me feel at home. A book makes me feel at home....
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Her story.
Maria Fernanda Farias Briseño
2018-08-20
She is excited, afraid, happy and sad. The light reflects on her with white painting, and big spaces. She wants to write her story. Several years and memories behind her She represents a barrier. She feels freer than ever, she wants to write her story. She is not she. she is not the...
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A new story.
Maria Fernanda Farias Briseño
2018-08-20
Hello, My name is Mafe (short version of Maria Fernanda) and I am from Queretaro, Mexico. Two years ago I started a unique experience by obtaining a scholarship to study high school in UWC Singapore, finishing this summer. Soon I will start a new adventure, I will take a gap year in Ecuador with help of Global...
Read MoreChapter 1: Entering the Open Door
Xandra Coleman
2018-08-20
Right now, there is a stupendous pile of objects strewn across my sister’s old room. In fact, ever since Aniqua officially moved out, the room has been slowly assimilated into a preparatory launch pad. A confined world of 40% deet, malaria pills, dollar store band-aids, and loose fitting pants. It is a world I can...
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Why I Am Taking A Gap Year With Global Citizen
Bihotza James-Lejarcegui
2018-08-19
Growing up, my family has prioritized and valued traveling and learning languages. Though we enjoy relaxing vacations to the beach, almost every trip we have been on has cradled the purpose of learning. These trips have included visiting ruins of Indigenous pueblas, drives through the badlands and learning the pros and cons of herding buffalo...
Read MoreAn Evolving Answer
Danielle Katz
2018-08-19
This time last year, I was writing essays answering “Why _______ University?” in 500 words or less. For the past 3 months I’ve verbally answered the prompt “Why are you taking a gap year,” and improvised a varying response each time. My reasons evolve, but my most coherent answer yet came, ironically, when I knew...
Read MoreMy Pre-departure Experience
Sarah Jane Jimenez
2018-08-19
Right now, I am sitting in the comfort of my bed in Berkeley, California. In 8 days I will be meeting GCY fellows and staff members at Stanford. In just 14 days I will be on a flight to Quito. It is definitely starting to feel more real now. To be honest, I have been...
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Letting go of certainty
Katarina Guillot
2018-08-18
I have always been known to do the unexpected. All my life I have never wanted to be like anybody else, sound like anybody else or copy anybody else. My family always commented on my bold decisions in everything I did calling me a “leader“, not a follower. As high school was ending and I was destined to go to college something just didn’t add up in my head. I wasn’t enthusiastic. I was not excited to head off to college and continue my life. I wanted a pause. A time to reflect on my life, and where I want to take it. Suddenly, a few weeks before graduation, an opportunity fell perfectly into my lap in an email from my guidance counselor. A video labeled “Why take a gap year?” was attached with an application to Global Citizen Year. As I...
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Bifurcaciones
Paula Medina
2018-08-18
Two years ago, I started a life changing experience. I was offered a scholarship to attend UWCSEA, meaning I was going to be spending two years in Singapore in an international school supported by values based on peace, diversity and international understanding. I refer to that experience as a rollercoaster; with ups, downs, and with...
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Un Poco Loco
Barbara Peck
2018-08-18
Here is a picture of me (and my friend Talia) on my high school graduation night, just over two months ago: But let’s rewind a bit to before my last year of high school came to an end. . . The most frequently asked question for us high school seniors is: “Where...
Read MoreLet the Unexpected Pave the Way
Brinley Barton
2018-08-17
Dear Future Self, I depart in a little over 1 week to leave for the Global Launch in San Fransisco. Almost all my friends that i’ve spent the past 6 years with have left for college and I feel a strong nostalgic feeling that nothing will be the same again. No high school, no swim team,...
Read MoreA Year Ago Today
Eliza Stowe
2018-08-17
“Duke, Cornell, UPenn, Vanderbilt, Harvard..,” my friend, Sophia, rambles off a long list of prestigious universities that she plans on applying to throughout her upcoming senior year of high school. It’s hard to believe that I was in her shoes only a year ago. Last August, I was just like Sophia, a rising highly-motivated and...
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