Blog #1 — Who I am & My goals for the Gap Year
My name is Ishan Sood. I am 18 years old and will be attending Florida State University in the fall of 2019. I was born and raised in Broward County in South Florida. Both of my parents immigrated to the United States over twenty years ago and are originally from India. My father is from New Delhi and my mother is from Mumbai (Bombay). Being a son of two immigrants has certainly pertained to my enthusiasm in traveling outside of the United States (Where I’ve basically resided throughout my entire life), as I’ve always been enthralled to go above and beyond what I am accustomed to and expand my comfort zone. I believe that FSU’s gap year program provides me with the opportunity of a lifetime to allow myself to grow as a person, and embellish my perspective on the world, while also helping me improve my social skills and become more independent. I will get the chance to explore unfamiliar regions of the world and immerse myself in the cultures that these parts of the world offer.
During my gap year, I wish to travel to Ghana, as I have already gotten myself well acquainted with the director of an organization based in Accra called World Partners for Development. While there, I will be assisting the organization in their various projects for innovative sustainable sanitation and supporting public health. This is something I am quite excited for as I am currently uncertain of what exactly it is that I want to pursue as a major when I begin attending at FSU, and I hope that this gap year can help shift me in the direction of something I might be interested in studying. Aside from Ghana, I also hope to travel and partner up with an organization in my parent’s home country, India. However, I have not thought that far ahead and have not decided for certain which specific part of India I would travel to or which organization I would work with. This would give me the possible chance to reacquaint with relatives who I have not seen in many years, and even meet some of my younger family members for the first time.
All in all, through my gap year, I wish to acquire skills that will strengthen my ability to live on my own, and I hope to meet new people, learn new languages, adapt to different cultures, and expand my overview of the world. I hope that through my gap year I will also be able to serve and help various communities. I hope to see what feats I can accomplish when I step out of my comfort zone, and grasp what I am capable of.
