Hello everyone!
I’m so excited for my bridge year in India! I have been anticipating for months about the food culture, and what my daily life is going to look like. Oh wait, just kidding!! I am actually going to Ecuador, I switched countries about two weeks before program launch because my Indian visa was not approved. I was so ready to go to India but due to the fact that I am of Pakistani origin my visa application was put on hold for an indefinite amount of time. It sucks, but I can’t be more excited to go to Ecuador! I still have not really grasped the fact that this is actually happening, I cannot believe that I am going to be leaving soon. I can’t help but to feel nervous, excited, and so scared all at the same time! I’m not really sure how to prepare myself for this huge change, living in a totally different country, thousands of miles away from my family. It’s definitely not what I originally planned for myself, but hopefully this experience forces me to learn to let go of my original plans and just go with the flow.
So why am I taking this bridge year, to be honest I am not completely sure but here are some of the reasons for why I think this whole bridge year thing is a good idea.
When I was younger I loved school, I was actually excited to wake up every morning to go to school. I had a love for learning that I no longer felt by the end of high school. I went to Lowell High School, a competitive college preparatory school known for its rigorous curriculum and noted for its academic excellence. I’m grateful that I was able to attend Lowell and thankful for all the opportunities we had, but being a part of a community where your only goal was to get into a good college did not help further my love of learning. I would study for so much, and spend countless hours trying to remember whatever material we were supposed to know for our next exam. It was not fun anymore, I didn’t want to learn, I was just trying to memorize as much as I could and I would forget all of it right after the tests. Upon returning, I hope to regain my love for learning hopefully I’ll come back with a renewed sense of purpose and a reinvigorated excitement for acquiring knowledge.
I am also really looking forward to learning a new language, Spanish is going to be so useful, especially! Hopefully while in Ecuador I can become fluent.
I am also hoping to figure out some of my passions, I think I want to go into the medical field but I’m not completely sure, so hopefully while in Ecuador I can learn more about what I want to do with the rest of my life.
Another big reason why I chose to participate in this program with global citizen year is because of Global Glimpse, a non-profit organization that partners with high schools to provide a two-year leadership, civic engagement, and college preparatory program centered on a summer immersion experience in the developing world. I had the most amazing experience with global glimpse and I am hoping GCY will be kind of like an extended more independent version of my time with Global Glimpse.
So for now those are my main reasons, I’ll probably realize more while in Ecuador and I will make sure to keep you guys updated!
Lots of love!
