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That time I decided to take a year off before college…

Being pressured into doing something can sometimes come as a relief when you don’t know what you want. But having a choice is always the better alternative.  Lucky for me, I realized this last year during the college application frenzy of senior year.  Though I felt ready for college, and definetly ready to do something greater than high school, I knew that following another year of conventional learning wasn’t what I wanted.  Put simply, I just wanted more.

One of the most valuable lessons that I learned during my high school economics class was that the most important investment that a young person can make is in their time. We are young and, relatively, not very powerful financially. We have only our time to invest.

I know that choosing to invest my time in becoming a Global Citizen was the smartest choice I’ve made in possibly my whole life thus far.  Global Citizen Year has already given me more than I could have hoped for in the short time that i have been here.  And it’s not only that I’m surrounded by a wealth of amazing, aware, and intelligent individuals, or that I’ll be living in a part of the world that fills me up after simply looking out of a window, or even the possibility that I may learn a third language this year while living in an indigenous community.  For the first time in a long time, I feel like day by day, I’m learning.

And it’s measurable.

And I love it.

Kimberly Nerea Tellez

About Kimberly Nerea Tellez


Born in Mexico and raised in New England, Kimberly has always harbored an interest in global issues. During her first two years of high school she lived and studied in Mexico, and during her senior year she was president of her school's Model UN team. Recently, she has been volunteering with President Barack Obama's reelection campaign as the head of the local Latino team, helping to promote voting among Latinos. She enjoys reading, drawing, and taking long walks while exploring the neighborhoods of her town.

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