Curitaba, Credit: Marcelo Zotto By Deonte' Lee I believe taking risks can enrich your life. At the young age of 18, I’ve done handstands on the Great Wall of China and volunteered with Syrian refugees in Jordan. Now I'm going to Brazil for a year. I am an African American male from Southern California. In high school I was an overachiever, participating in track and wrestling, serving as associated student body executive president for 3 years and founding my school’s Gay Straight Alliance and Black Student Union clubs. I also plan to one day become a first-generation college student — just not yet. Each year, Global Citizen Year sends 15 high school graduates from around the world to Brazil. The students document their travel excursions and experiences along their journey, live with a host family and work for local non-government organizations. During their stay, students fully immerse themselves in the culture and 94 percent complete the program with near-fluency in Brazilian Portuguese. I leave home Aug. 27 and will be in the city of Curitiba when I first arrive. Making the decision to participate in a program requiring as great a commitment as this was very hard. In the U.S., graduating from high school means that you’re going to college after the summer to start preparing for your career. Whenever I tell someone about my bridge year plans, they first appear baffled by the term and then flabbergasted by the fact that it doesn't fit the usual expectations post-high school. Right now I'm excited, sad, jealous, scared and uncertain. I am excited to leave the U.S. extremely excited to become a part of the Brazilian culture and pursue my wanderlust passions, but I am sad to an extent because I will leave my parents, friends and life as an American behind for a time. I cannot yet fathom myself actually living in Brazil. While I am grateful for this new opportunity, I'm uncertain about how it will affect the trajectory of my life and where I’ll attend college when I return. I’m jealous of all of my friends because of their new experiences in picking classes, finding roommates and going dorm room shopping, but I know in reality they’re a little jealous of me, too. I am afraid of how I will change, how my perception of the U.S. will be challenged and whether my host family will accept me. Despite my reservations, I know I will grow as a person and can't wait for this next adventure to begin. I encourage the individuals reading this to follow a different path to see where it leads. Deonte' Lee is a recent graduate of Adelanto High School in Adelanto, California.