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
Wild World Awaits
Avry Richter
2018-08-24
Howdy! A happy hello to you from the homestead in Colorado! Peepings from my window in this moment: The cacophony of locusts warming the world Wind speaking through charms from my porch A hazed out sky that has no room for stars or light to peak through An abandoned cat that taunts my dogs with...
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Let’s start from the beginning.. / Empezemos por el comienzo..
Natalia Rijo
2018-08-24
(Español debajo) Hi everyone, As you may( and should) know, I am starting my gap year with Global Citizen in Ecuador very very soon. I will be having an amazing and empowering experience and that is one of the reasons for what I am writing this blog. So I will be sending you...
Read MoreBags
Joseph Brett
2018-08-23
When I started this process I told my parents I would never be able to pack all my belongings into a bag. I told them it was impossible to pack my life into one single duffel bag. This is all while my siblings were sitting at the dining room table giggling. Having been previous fellows...
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Why I Decided to Take a Gap Year (and How I Ended up Going to Ecuador!)
Jeffrey Fishman
2018-08-23
For my entire high school career, I tried to be perfect. I strived for perfection in my grades and in my extracurricular activities, and I felt as if any little mistake could ruin my chances of getting into college. I think that I put a lot of this pressure on myself because I wanted to...
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On Wandering
Maya Foster
2018-08-22
The experiences that teach us the most are often those found through wandering. This is true in the classroom; tangential lessons sparked by the genuine curiosity of the students are some of the most memorable of my educational career. This is true in art; the images I’ve created when inspired to explore new styles and...
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Her story.
Maria Fernanda Farias Briseño
2018-08-20
She is excited, afraid, happy and sad. The light reflects on her with white painting, and big spaces. She wants to write her story. Several years and memories behind her She represents a barrier. She feels freer than ever, she wants to write her story. She is not she. she is not the...
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A new story.
Maria Fernanda Farias Briseño
2018-08-20
Hello, My name is Mafe (short version of Maria Fernanda) and I am from Queretaro, Mexico. Two years ago I started a unique experience by obtaining a scholarship to study high school in UWC Singapore, finishing this summer. Soon I will start a new adventure, I will take a gap year in Ecuador with help of Global...
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Why I Am Taking A Gap Year With Global Citizen
Bihotza James-Lejarcegui
2018-08-19
Growing up, my family has prioritized and valued traveling and learning languages. Though we enjoy relaxing vacations to the beach, almost every trip we have been on has cradled the purpose of learning. These trips have included visiting ruins of Indigenous pueblas, drives through the badlands and learning the pros and cons of herding...
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Letting go of certainty
Katarina Guillot
2018-08-18
I have always been known to do the unexpected. All my life I have never wanted to be like anybody else, sound like anybody else or copy anybody else. My family always commented on my bold decisions in everything I did calling me a “leader“, not a follower. As high school was ending and I was destined to go to college something just didn’t add up in my head. I wasn’t enthusiastic. I was not excited to head off to college and continue my life. I wanted a pause. A time to reflect on my life, and where I want to take it. Suddenly, a few weeks before graduation, an opportunity fell perfectly into my lap in an email from my guidance counselor. A video labeled “Why take a gap year?” was attached with an application to Global Citizen Year. As I...
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Un Poco Loco
Barbara Peck
2018-08-18
Here is a picture of me (and my friend Talia) on my high school graduation night, just over two months ago: But let’s rewind a bit to before my last year of high school came to an end. . . The most frequently asked question for us high school seniors is: “Where...
Read MoreLet the Unexpected Pave the Way
Brinley Barton
2018-08-17
Dear Future Self, I depart in a little over 1 week to leave for the Global Launch in San Fransisco. Almost all my friends that i’ve spent the past 6 years with have left for college and I feel a strong nostalgic feeling that nothing will be the same again. No high school, no swim team,...
Read MoreA Year Ago Today
Eliza Stowe
2018-08-17
“Duke, Cornell, UPenn, Vanderbilt, Harvard..,” my friend, Sophia, rambles off a long list of prestigious universities that she plans on applying to throughout her upcoming senior year of high school. It’s hard to believe that I was in her shoes only a year ago. Last August, I was just like Sophia, a rising highly-motivated and...
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