When the term “global citizenship” first comes to mind, I can’t help but to think of an elite world-traveler, trendy mid 20 year old girl. I imagine her traveling the world on daddy’s credit card and staying at the best places in town.
But dig a little deeper, and go through a life changing experience and I can assure you, that term is redefined. It was for me anyways.
Global citizenship is not only about being well traveled. It is also about being cultured. It is embracing the country’s culture in which you are visiting. It requires learning about the language, the food, the religion, the music, the fashion, etc. before even traveling there. My first take on global citizenship was ignorant. I had no idea what it meant to be a global citizen because before I had just traveled to Italy and had been led on tour after tour after tour.
I wasn’t able to fully immerse myself into the culture because frankly I didn’t even interact with the people of the community there. I stayed with my friends I came with and other than attempting to communicate with a waiter or a cashier, I never really had conversation with someone in Italy.
Thankfully, my privileged little self was able to have a second chance at this term when arriving in Ghana.
Here, I was a member of the community. I saw their schools, ate their food, walked their land, but most of all, I became friends with the community members. I did my best to communicate with them and learn some of their language. I bought their clothes and ate their food. We took pictures together, and played games. Nothing that I did there had to do with tourism. I was able to connect on a personal level when in triage. I took their vitals and heard their symptoms.
This is what global citizenship is and what it means to be a global citizen. You must completely dive into the culture and lives of the people’s land you are staying on. It is crucial to learn as much as you can from them because you are the visitors. Being a global citizen is important in today’s society. Often times we get too caught up in our own lives and tend to live in a bubble. The world is massive, but by learning about different people from all over, it becomes smaller and we become closer. It is our responsibility to take care of others in the world and let them take care of us. We are not just citizens of Illinois or citizens of America. We are citizens of the World and we must take pride in living up to that title.
Global Citizenship 