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
Why a bridge?
Jessica Chai
2014-08-07
At the age of seventeen, my standing in the world looks pretty good. I graduated from high school this past June. I began my first job. I was even on track to attend my dream school Stanford in the fall. So it begs the question: why am I taking a bridge year? It’s a good question....
Read More
Let’s Begin
Elliott Aronson
2014-08-07
Insecurity derives from a lack of capability. And as people of the world have proven time and time again, a “lack of capability” derives from nonsense. The most wonderful part about being human is that improvement is always attainable. By constantly improving yourself, you are ultimately making your life easier by becoming more accessible to...
Read More Autumn and Spring.
Elias Smolcic-Larson
2014-08-06
As I sit here, with my mouth still hurting after having my four wisdom teeth removed I now know it is time. At the beginning of summer, I thought for sure this summer would last. In early June when I was making my appointments in preparation to depart for Ecuador the entire summer loomed ahead,...
Read More
My own trail
Charlotte Reider-Smith
2014-08-04
I’ve always liked to diverge. Rebecca, Abby, and Sam ski on ahead. I plop down in the snow, waiting for them to disappear. I want space to get lost in the snow and the trees. I want to find my own way down the mountain, far from their tracks and voices. I lay back, looking...
Read More View From The Top
Jason Child
2014-08-03
I would like to first thank everyone who has helped me during my summer campaign. You guys are great! Each and every one of you has shaped me to become the person I am today. I will miss all of you tremendously. Last week I hiked Lone Peak. It is my favorite peak to stand...
Read More
Homes Away From Home
Aliana Ruxin
2014-08-03
I’m writing this from my bed at sleep-away camp, putting pen to paper, this time as a counselor, much as I did years ago as a camper on Letter Writing Days. Looking around at my campers, reflecting on the past six weeks we’ve spent here, remembering the previous seven summers I’ve been at camp, I...
Read More A Little Bridge Before the Big One
Jane Tobias
2014-08-01
I know it’s coming. I’ve been dreaming about the day I leave for a long time. But someday is different than a date on the calendar. When I’m bundled in bed waiting to fall asleep, walking down the street, or washing dishes in the kitchen sink, snapshots of banana groves, cobble stone streets, and markets...
Read More On Maya Angelou, loneliness, and being the boss
Cierra Bland
2014-08-01
I sat in my cap and gown for the first time- full honor chords, stoles and all- as my friend leaned in from behind to tell me that Maya Angelou had died. Right there in the middle of my Senior Awards Ceremony, stunned by the emotion of the news I had just received, I could...
Read More Until we meet again..
Elizabeth O'Malley
2014-08-01
As I form a list of what to pack for this grand adventure, I think of which shoes I’d like to wear in this new place, or if I’ll need a particular outfit. How do I choose between favorite sweatshirts? Of course, my answer is to bring the lightest ones. But, this sense of reality...
Read More
Venturing Off the Grid
Rachel Swartz
2014-08-01
My Mother and I are currently stuck at Kansas International Airport on our way back home to Seattle. At this point we’ve been waiting for 2 hours due to “Tornado Warnings in Denver” whatever that means… I’ve always enjoyed sitting in Airports, there is something special about people-watching when you travel. Perhaps because we are...
Read More
Where It All Begins – Communicating
Kyra Halpenny
2014-08-01
July 31, 2014 – Elko, NV, United States For as long as I can remember I have been a traveler. For the last week my papa and I have been making the trek from Saskatoon, Canada to Fremont, California. Before that I drove the west coast to British Columbia, and that is just what I...
Read More
Why?
Elston Tortuga
2014-08-01
I’ve been avoiding the task of fleshing out an answer to the question of why I decided to put off college for a year in favor of living in Senegal for eight months. Sure, I’ve formulated my logical reasoning – I’m craving an adventure, I require a new perspective in order to justify the hefty...
Read More