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
A Year of Many Firsts
JT Su
2013-09-05
Life is full of firsts–first steps, first day of school, first wish, first date. The list is endless, but there always seems to be a time when our lives become somewhat repetitive. I, myself, was a victim of this. I had become so accustomed to how I lived my daily life that I stopped growing....
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I Am Not A Dancer.
JT Su
2013-09-05
I have short legs and skinny arms. My coordination and sense of rhythm are horrendous. I don’t listen to much music. The result when I dance is ghastly, to say the least, and while normal people are able to quickly pick up moves, I cannot catch on if my life depended on it. Being unable...
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Bienvenidos a Quito
Claire Wohlers
2013-09-04
“Bienvenidos a Quito and welcome to Ecuador,” the woman working at immigration told me, as she told every other person that walked by her window. But for me, I was being welcomed to my new home, Ecuador. Because our flight arrived at midnight, I had no choice but to submit to my body’s needs, immediately...
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Questions. Thoughts. Feelings
Nikita Dolin
2013-09-04
What are you doing? What are you thinking? Where are you going? What’s the point? What is life? Why do we live? What meaning do we have? Do we have a set destiny? Can we change anything? Are we just here for the ride or can we choose every part? Why did that happen? Why...
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Onwards
Eva Ackerman
2013-09-04
While other families brought their old clothing to either a homeless shelter or a secondhand store, my mom brought them to her job. Our clothing, like many other family’s clothing, was donated to homeless families, yet in our situation, there was no middleman. Instead, my mom gave the clothing directly to her clients: homeless families. My...
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Light, Naked, Vulnerable
Aitran Doan
2013-09-04
I’m doing it. Yes, I am. There’s no going back. That’s it; the boy-cut Mom used to give us was coming back. Remember when we lived in Vietnam and she always cut our hair short so we can run around like crazy boys? I look back the old pictures now and laugh at our innocent...
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Pure Fellowship
Edward Katz
2013-08-29
The plane landed for the last time, finally arriving in California. I got my bags without a problem and headed towards baggage claim 3. After 10 minutes of walking with 50lb bags, I fall to the ground after finally reaching the meeting place, threw my bags on the ground and look for my group to...
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So Long, Farewell
Leah Mesh-Ferguson
2013-08-29
“Actually, I will be spending next year in Ecuador…” This Thursday at 7:00 AM, I will climb onto a shuttle bus with 50 other Fellows, my duffel and backpack packed under the bus, and depart Stanford University for the airport. We will all check in together. We will all go through security together. We will...
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Taking a Moment to Breathe
JT Su
2013-08-29
6:30 AM. I roll out of bed and trudge to my bathroom like a lifeless zombie, wishing for just ten more minutes of sleep. After getting ready for school and always seeming to miss breakfast along the way, I arrive for orchestra rehearsal by 7. Then comes my long day of school until 3. I...
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