Maddy Mahmoud

5-20-19

What are the most important things that you learned in AGS this year?

The Year that Changed my Life

My sophomore year has been the most impactful year of my life, where I learned the

most inside and outside of school. I have traveled to new places and gained new experiences. I

have begun to work hard in school, something I did not do in the past. I have learned to think

deeper. I have made new friendships. This has all been thanks to Global Studies. I truly believe

if I was not in this amazing program, I would be a much worse person. One thing that has really

affected me is the big topic we have come back to time and time again this year; being a global

citizen and what makes a person deserving of this title.

In my 16 years on this planet, I have been very fortunate to visit over 25 countries such

as Japan, Australia, Spain, Canada, and more. A common theme from all of these trips is that I

went on them before my sophomore year where I learned that I am not a good global citizen. A

global citizen can be defined in many ways, but mine is a traveler who seeks the true experience

and culture of a place, rather than getting the cookie cutter experience where you eat all the basic

foods and visit all of the basic attractions. For example, many islands with popular beach resorts

are seen as just that, a place to relax and sit back with a pina colada. What people do not

acknowledge is that many of these countries are very poor, often because of a tough history of

colonization from said tourist’s home country, and that their economy relies on tourism. These
tourists are sometimes also very rude and inconsiderate, feeling as if they are above those from

the island. Global citizens are travelers, not tourists. A tourist is what I have been my whole life

because on all of my vacations, I only visited the basic tourist attractions and often stayed in

resorts, instead of staying amongst the locals and learning all about the amazing culture of the

place. I had never considered the struggles that people from some of the countries I have visited

may have experienced.

When we first talked about being a global citizen, I did not pay it much attention. I felt

like since I had been all over the world that automatically made me a global citizen. I learned

that I was definitely wrong on our class trip to Costa Rica. In Costa Rica we stayed with the

local Bri Bri tribe for a night, and visited family farms. During the night with the Bri Bri we all

sat in their meeting area and learned about their culture and religion. The Bri Bri have their own

religion and boys in the tribe trade to be the next leader. The Bri Bri have their own language

which is also mixed with Spanish, so we had to have someone translate everything being said to

us. It was one of the most amazing and interesting experiences of my life. After that we visited

family farms in Costa Rica called Fincas. At the fincas we got to go on hikes around their farms

and see everything they grew. At the second finca the lady who owned the farm grew lots of

planets for medicinal purposes, as well as for soap making. I thought it was very cool how she

lived of the land in such a beautiful way. We got to help her make the soap, and she gave

everyone a small heart shaped soap afterwards. At that finca we also got to play soccer.. Soccer

is a very popular past time in Costa Rica, so it was very fun to experience playing it with the

locals, who kicked our butts. These experiences were really unique and I never would have been
able to do these things if I was being a tourist instead of a traveler. Costa Rica was the first time

I realized what it meant to be a global citizen and a traveler, not a tourist.

In the future when I travel, whether with family, friends, Global Studies, or alone, I will

now be a global citizen. I am going to actively seek real experiences, similar to those in Costa

Rica. In Costa Rica I had some of the most memorable and impactful experiences of my life,

and I hope I have many more opportunities like those in my lifetime. I will never forget my

sophomore year because it was one that completely changed my life and view on the world in

many ways.