Bonjur, comment alle-vous? Oh, hey, you just caught me practicing my French! I’m going to need that skill to voice myself out in Senegal Africa, where I’ll be making my stay as a Global Citizen Year fellow. Well, in case you don’t know me, my name is Samuel Parson. As I was born into the world, I have been a traveler from birth, because I took in my first breath of air in Cruzeiro Do Sul Brazil, on the edge of land by the rainforest. By a turn of fortune, in my third year my family moved to Washington state, where I have been raised into who I am today. In my whole life I have had the chance to see a few different countries like Brazil, the USA, Japan, Germany, Spain, and even Canada, but with 195 countries out there, I’ve got A LOT to see yet! I really wish the dictionary had words for me to use to express it, but my level of excitement rockets through the roof, and out of this world! So I’m pretty thrilled to be granted the chance to go to Africa, and Live In Senegal, TO SAY THE LEAST!
So I’m 18 now, and I can legitimately say that the comment I’ve most received from everyone is, “Dude, sam, your weird!” And, hey, I’m cool with that. Everyone’s always sayin’ to me, “HEY, what’re you crazy or something?!” and with honesty being my virtue most true and blue, I’ll always say, “Yeah! Crazy and a half!” But I’ll tell you that beneath all my craziness is an honest, caring soul with an undying love for the world around me and also a wild longing for adventure.
I know that Africa is and has been a very troubled land, and for too long now has this trend existed. Like a sludge-polluted engine, within this continent the final gears in function push to their last dying breath to keep the flow of nature in motion. Join me! Follow my blog throughout my stay in Senegal, as I take my turn to slowly polish this engine that is Africa, with an attempt at heart to inspire the world as a whole, to then take their own shot at shining the rest. Because in this world, as you and I live and cycle through the circle of life, I am, he is, she is, and we are all together, growing in union, with one shot, one life, one world. Let’s clean up the engine of Africa so it shines out so bright, because when one part within the whole unit breaks down, the rest crumbles with it.
I’m not yet sure what kind of mission I will follow in Senegal, whether it be giving vaccination shots, helping out social injustice, building houses, or working with the earth and agriculture. But as I have come to know, I am only a reflection of all that I have ever learned. So please “follow” me and my blog as I learn for a year what it really means to live for a greater cause, so that one day I may pass my inspiration along to others.
