Gap Year Joy and Grief: Reflections from Nusa Penida
by Emily Gabbard
“Every generation has the obligation to free men’s minds for a look at the new world…to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation.” – Ellison S. Onizaka
About a month ago, I left everything I knew in Nepal for my new adventure in Bali. Leaving is never easy, no matter how much I prepare. Once I arrived in the Kathmandu airport, I was already alone; I was leaving all the friendships I had made over the past 9 weeks.
I love meeting these amazing people that come and go through my life, like water slipping through hands.
I recently received an email from the founder of Nepal Orphans Home. He sent me a letter that one of my favorite students had written for me. This letter brought feelings from immense joy to that awful feeling of “I miss this.” This is what my gap year is made […]