BiH Youth Leadership Fall 2014: The Learning Continues
Four young leaders from Bosnia and Herzegovina write about their life-changing experiences in Seattle.
The participants in the Youth Leadership Program with Bosnia and Herzegovina are adapting to daily life in the Seattle area and learning all kinds of things about local culture. They're also gaining skills and confidence to be leaders in their own communities once they return home. Read four excellent blog entries by Ena, David, Irfan, and Anja about their experiences!
A life-changing experience - by Ena Jusufbegovic
I'm just a regular high school student and my name is Ena Jusufbegovic. But one call changed my life, I found out that I am a participant of Youth Leadership Program. That's a big thing for a 16 year old girl from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being here is so much fun and I enjoy every second. So far, I have had two host families, and both of them are very nice, and I feel comfortable with them. My current host family has a dog and a cat, and I like that because I'm an animal lover. I also have two dogs at home.
The Youth Leadership Program is a great opportunity for young people to become active citizens and to learn how to make a change. It also brings you many new experiences, friends, you get to see many places you might never see again, all mixed together with a lot of fun. Everything is interesting, and you just can't be bored.
But one place we visited left a big impression on me and I admire people who donate, volunteer and work for food banks. I visited one food bank in Seattle. I volunteered there for two days and I really liked that place. It's warm and full of feelings. Everyone who walks in is there because they have a reason. But all those people are nice, generous and you feel their sadness disappearing when you smile at them. You feel great when you realise that you are helping someone. Talking to them and collecting food for them was a big experience for me. Seeing all the generous people bringing donations makes me really happy because I can feel that we are helping. I decided to do more volunteering and to get involved when I get home. I feel like we need a food bank there too, because it is useful and it helps people. I know that many people would be willing to help and to participate in opening food banks in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
We just need to put some effort and we can do it because people in need deserve to have a place like that. No one can choose their faith and you never know what is going to come to you in your lifetime. We have to think about others and consider their opinions. We can do a survey and see if people are interested in opening food bank, and if they are, we should make a plan how to do that. I also think that we can do anything by ourselves if we try hard enough. Even if we fail at first, we should never give up. We need to fight for what we want.
I came to America to learn a lot, and I feel like I'm already accomplishing my goal. There is so much to learn and I'm excited to use all the knowledge when I get home. I hope that our group will make a change in our community in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Holy Grail - by David Jeremic
Woah, we’re here. I can’t believe it. One day, I’m sitting in my English class, next day I’m traveling the world and living my dream. This is so weird. I’m so thankful to the people that helped me get this far. I’ve met some people on this trip I know I can count on. Even though we’ve barely started, I’ve had some experiences that’ll keep me motivated no matter what I do.Just being here proves to me that I am able to accomplish anything. My flaws are not a setback,they are a challenge to overcome. The reason I entered this program is because I saw that both my country and me need to change. We need to toughen up and make the changes that are necessary. I'm doing that,and I know if people like this run our country, we’ve got nothing to worry about.
Since our arrival, we’ve learned so much it’s hard to put it in a short blog entry, so I’ll describe what affected me the most. A few days ago,we visited the University of Washington for the first time, and it was like BAM!, this is my future school. The second we walked in, I knew this was the thing I was working toward. The way the University works, the way people help each other, how everything is so vast and organized just affected me. It was déjà vu, I knew that I had been here before, and I was coming back. I’m the kind of person that needs a palpable goal to reach. Now that I’ve found that, I'm like a star, you can't stop my shine.
We’ve had plenty of seminars which have taught us new ways to improve our communities,and that’s exactly what I intend to do. People say change is hard. I say they’re right, it is hard, but it’s not impossible. We have a lot of problems, but if we work towards solving them,we will solve them. If people tell you “You can’t do this,” turn around, smile in their faces and tell them “Yes we can!”
To green or not to green, there is no question! - by Irfan Osmanović
To be a true Seattelite is to recycle, to watch in which bin you're throwing your trash away and to be aware of importance of preserving nature.
Firstly, let me introduce myself. My name is Irfan Osmanovic and I'm a 17 year old high school student from Bosnia and Herzegovina. I came to Seattle about ten days ago with Youth Leadership Program, which is hosted by Foundation for International Understanding Through Students and funded by U.S. Department of State Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (Thank you!).
In the past week and a half I have truly learned a lot, in sessions and in classes, but there are many valuable life lessons I have learned from my hosts and other Americans. Lessons like environmental care.
To be honest, although I have been traveling a lot in the past, I have never seen a nation so aware of importance of clean and safe environment for our and future generations. Anywhere you go in the city of Seattle you'll see water wells where you can pour water into your bottle for free, for no money and for no harm for the environment, you will also see recyclable napkins, tissues and boxes in every restaurant. Main purpose of recycling is trying not to create unnecessary waste. My host parents have showed me how to get used to dividing my trash and leftovers every single day into different trash cans, so they can be properly recycled. Environmental care became significant part of American culture, and American culture is one of the reasons why I'm here!
Recycling is not implemented at all in my country, but I will be proud of coming back home with such knowledge. I will make sure to let everyone know that I won't remember Seattle for its amazing downtown, shopping malls, Space Needle or rainy weather, but I will always remember the Emerald City as a city of pure and clean love for our planet.
Stepping out of my comfort zone - by Anja Gavrić
Hello everyone! My name is Anja and I am 17 years old. I will start off by telling you how I felt before coming to USA so you can understand my story, or even the title.
Being chosen for this program was a big deal to me. I mean, I get to meet new people, try new food, learn, etc. But there was one problem, I was too scared of being judged. Before the pre-departure program in Sarajevo I thought to myself: "These people don't know you so make a good first impression." I still couldn't do it. Being in a room with 17 different people was hard and scary to me. I was usually "sitting in the corner" and agreed to everything just so I don't say something stupid.
I kept doing that until I got a challenge: I had to lead the first morning meeting with my friend Vanja. Morning meeting is a meeting where you usually talk about a subject that's connected to the program. Now imagine you had to do something for the first time that you never saw anyone do, but you are under pressure that it has to be perfect so people don't judge you. Terrifying, right? If I said that I was feeling fine the night before and the day of the morning meeting I would be lying. I was a nervous wreck. But, somehow, the meeting went great! Everyone participated and no rude comments were thrown at us. It was the moment that I started feeling as a member of the team.
That day was the day that I opened up. I'm much more relaxed now and I can talk to everyone now because I feel accepted. Will I be like this when I get back home? Maybe, but it's important for me to know that I made that first step and that's a progress. Thanks YLP!
The Youth Leadership Program with Bosnia and Herzegovina is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the program here.