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
“Follow your bliss”
Erica Anderson
2011-07-06
A few months ago, I was inspired by a simple phrase I heard in an interview of the late Joseph Campbell, a man who devoted his life to studying ancient myths. From his analysis of global texts and his own life experience, his best advice for living life was to “follow your bliss.” I clicked...
Read MoreMaking My Own Tools
Michael Winfield
2011-07-06
Hey! I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. I’m an artist, youth mentor, tennis player, humanitarian, nature watcher, and a Global Citizen Year Fellow. I wasn’t raised in a wealthy family. I was born into this world with few tools for success, but as I’m getting older I’m making my own tools to build...
Read MoreThe Start of the Beginning
Semira Sanchez
2011-07-06
Ever since I was in middle school, I’ve always wanted to take a gap year. My family and I talked about it all through my high school years, so attending Global Citizen Year was the perfect match for me. I was introduced to this program by my chemistry teacher and automatically fell in love with...
Read MoreTrading My Safety Net for a Mosquito Net
Natalie Davidson
2011-07-06
In January of 2011 my mom suggested out of the blue that I consider applying to a gap year program. With college applications so recently finished and my second semester starting out as lazy and carefree as I was always promised, I had no desire to start filling out yet another application, especially for a...
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Why I’m Here
Priyanka Rao
2011-07-05
Traveling has been always a passion of mine, since those initial bus-rides ‘round the Hydrabadi loop (India), which was all my mother could do to quiet my infant cries. Even then, the entrancing rhythm of being in motion, underneath the hum and roll of people talking, brought me home like nothing else could, just as...
Read MoreMy Reason For Adventure
Lucy Blumberg
2011-07-05
When a person attempts to fix the problems of a well-established system, they rarely succeed. Much more effective is when many people working in many different communities spur grassroots change, conquering the problem from the bottom up. This upcoming fall Global Citizen Year will give 57 Fellows the tools they need to create positive social...
Read MoreHow to Speak Without Saying Anything
Madeline Campbell
2011-07-05
When I was little, my family lived in Prince Edward Island, Canada. One of our family friends was Québécois and whenever his family came to visit they would speak mostly in French. Being so little at the time, I had no idea what they were saying, but my then-outgoing self decided to speak up anyway...
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The Colors of the Rainbow
Henrietta Conrad
2011-07-05
“Other” was the name of the box I checked off for the ethnic questionnaire on standardize tests but “Other” isn’t my race. “Other”, in fact, is the substitute for a word that doesn’t exist because a blend of sorts is difficult to define. A mouthwatering dish is a blend of subtle flavors in...
Read MoreHome in California
Lukas Brenard
2011-07-05
Hello everyone, my name is Lukas Brenard. I was raised in Stinson Beach, a small beach town in Northern California. At home it was paradise: surfing, sun, simplicity, and comfort. I knew everyone in town and they knew me. Yet at 15 I moved to Los Angeles to study music and see the world from...
Read MoreDiscovering My Differences
Jacklyn Joy Byrd
2011-07-05
For more than 10 generations, my family has lived in the state of Georgia. Why am I, an artistic 18-year-old from Atlanta, the first person in my family to venture out and experience the world? I believe that is the reason I am taking this gap year: to discover what makes me feel so different...
Read MoreIntroduction
Nicolas Freschi
2011-07-05
To be honest, I am pretty uncomfortable writing a blog post. I have long been under the impression that there are very few things I can share on the Internet that are worth sharing. I am not a noteworthy photographer, musician, comedian or journalist. In the face of billions and billions of tweets, blogs, websites,...
Read MoreSmall Town Girl
Aubrey Haddard
2011-07-05
I once saw a bumper sticker that read, “do something every day that scares you.” In all honesty, this motto, my personal favorite, was largely a part of my decision to take a Global Citizen Year. I have lived in the same home in the same small town for all seventeen years of my life...
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