APPLY
  • Program
  • Admissions
  • Speakers
  • Alumni
  • About Us
APPLY
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Apprenticeships
  • South Africa
  • FAQs
  • Admissions
  • Tuition & Aid
  • Eligibility Quiz
  • Request Info
  • Alumni Stories
  • Community Hub
  • Fellowship
  • Academy
  • Our Story
  • Our Impact
  • Our Team
  • News & Press
  • For Educators
  • Donate

The Perks of Learning to Breathe

As I mentally prepared for this year, there were things I knew I’d have to learn. I would need to learn new customs, new languages, how to live independently, and other alien concepts yet to be discovered. In fact, the things I did know were few and far between. Among this abundance of unlearned material, breathing was something that not once crossed my mind.

I have been breathing for a while now, just over 18 years and 10 months actually. And one would think that after that long of a time, I would have mastered the practice of inhalation and exhalation pretty well. By now, I could maybe call breathing a habit of sorts.

In spite of all that, I am only now learning what it means to breathe.

breath·ing | ˈbrē-thiŋ |

noun

1  the process of expelling one’s worldview through the limited scope of a bendy straw, and inhaling a cornucopia brimming with rich outlooks.

2  a short time taken to examine one’s inner meaning, mind, and morals –  rekindling a desire to learn.

3  a pause to observe real life before one is to begin his own on his own, learning that the things that matter aren’t really things at all.

4  the process of taking in air and expelling it from the lungs : His breathing was calm as he reassessed, everything.


ORIGIN: Mberes, Ross Bethio, Senegal

Russell Bollag-Miller

About Russell Bollag-Miller


Russell’s friends and family describe him as a passionate, affable, and hard-working young man with a diverse array of interests. At Lexington High, he was a member of both the Peer Mentoring and Leadership programs, led the school’s oldest all-male a cappella group (Pitchpipes), played varsity soccer, and was a captain of the lacrosse team. His other various passions include: hiking, Environmental activism, playing guitar and singing in a local folk-rock band. His summers are spent working at Camp Becket in the Berkshires, a sleep-away camp that has been Russell’s home away from home for the past 8 years.

gcy logo
Take Action Lab
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Apprenticeships
  • South Africa
  • Take Action Lab FAQs
Academy
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Speakers
  • Academy Stories
  • Academy FAQs
Fellowship
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Destinations
  • Fellowship Stories
  • Fellowship FAQs
Admissions
  • Admissions
  • Tuition & Aid
  • Gap Year Resources
About Us
  • Our Story
  • Our Impact
  • Our Team
  • News & Press
  • For Educators
  • Community Hub
  • Instructor Hub
  • Careers

1625 Clay Street, Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94612
info@globalcitizenyear.org
415-963-9293

Have Admissions Questions?
Check out our FAQs or email our team at admissions@globalcitizenyear.org

Press Inquiries: Please contact Molly Weissman:
media@globalcitizenyear.org

Privacy Policy

© 2023 - Global Citizen Year