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
Eighteen Year Olds
Meg Crenshaw
2012-07-10
Eighteen is a funny age. In the summer, eighteen year olds fill the spectrum. There are eighteen year olds completely dependent on their parents, and there are eighteen year olds paying rent independently. There are eighteen year olds who have a three-month interlude during the summer, and there are eighteen year olds whose summers are...
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The Thrill of Living
Tasha Torres
2012-07-10
It was a big decision for me, choosing to take a year off of college in exchange for the opportunity to study abroad in another country for a year. After overcoming the struggles of applying and getting rejected from numerous colleges, I applied to Global Citizen Year. This was my opportunity to live abroad and...
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Far From Normal
Jojo Guerrero
2012-07-10
A year passes by in a blink of an eye. You go to sleep one night feeling and being a certain way, then you wake up and everything has changed. I know all too well what a year can do. If you asked me a year ago, “What are you going to be doing next...
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Let’s Go!
Carly Sitrin
2012-07-10
Would you do me a favor? Imagine I have crafted here an entrancing tale of adventure and romance. Pretend, just for a moment, that I have traversed mountain ranges, crossed miles of unforgiving desert sand, and have gained spiritual insight from the wisest humans in the most remote locations. Paint yourself a picture of an...
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Slowing The Pace
Graham Collins
2012-07-10
My parents gave me the name Graham Collins. My first 18 years have been spent in Charlotte, North Carolina. I have grown up in the suburbs. Based on my position in the world, I am expected to behave and be respectful; work hard and make good grades; get into college and find a lucrative job;...
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Dream Come True
Julia Carter
2012-07-10
I first heard about Global Citizen Year during my sophomore year of high school. My older brother discovered the program and thought the mission of the program was both important and unique; something his sister would thrive in. Being only a sophomore, the thought of taking a year off from college did not seem like...
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Sat Nam
Emily Collins
2012-07-10
Sat Nam; Truth is my identity. A yogi mantra that I discovered in my first session of yoga 5 years ago, unaware of how much value it would hold to me in the future. I have always been one to question the way the world works. Why does society hold certain expectations and how have...
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The Beginning of a New Me
Meliza Windmoeller
2012-07-10
Hi everyone, I’m Liza Windmoeller and like almost everyone else I’m 18 and a recent graduate. I am from northern Wisconsin, a very small town called Phillips. Our population is barely 2,000 and our ethnic diversity is sorely lacking. But needless to say it is the place I call home. I sat here for a...
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Looking Ahead
Lydia Collins
2012-07-10
The first thing I remember was the graffiti. Stucco buildings had drawings and words scrawled across their whitewashed walls. Stray dogs sulked past windows with metal grates, scavenging for dinner. The arid air was thick with cigarette fumes and exhaust from passing mopeds. Strangely dressed teenagers passed around suspicious looking bottles, laughing and smoking. I...
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Marching Into An Unknown World
Allie Wallace
2012-07-10
“After much anticipation, we hope you will be excited learn that you will be spending your Global Citizen Year in Senegal!” As these words sunk into my head, a memory surfaced amongst waves of excitement and nervous energy. The memory is that of an event which seemed insignificant at the time. It was a typical...
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Life’s Highway
Jennifer Ostrowski
2012-07-10
As a child, I became very well acquainted with the 242 miles of Wisconsin highway stretching between my grandparents’ house and my own. For as long as I can remember, my brother and I would count down the miles to Grandma’s molasses cookies and Grandpa’s homegrown vegetables from the back seat of our Dodge Caravan....
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My Unconventional Path
Fikrte Abebe
2012-07-10
My name is Fikrte Abebe, I am from Ethiopia and came to the United States at the age of eight. One of the main reasons my parents wanted to move to the United States was because they wanted a better educational opportunity for their children. Therefore, taking a year off school was out of the...
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