Blog Post #3 - Macy Bayer - Global Citizenship

        Throughout my travels, as touched upon in my most recent blog, combined with the observations I have made during the past two weeks in Freiburg, Vienna, Strasbourg, Zurich, and Budapest, I have spent a great deal of time thinking about what it means to be a global citizen. Before this course, I likely would have defined a global citizen as someone who travels frequently, speaks multiple languages, or has lived in several countries. While those experiences certainly contribute to a global perspective, I now believe global citizenship is far more within reach than I once thought.

        I interpret global citizenship to revolve around three key pillars including cultural awareness, adaptability, and taking action. Throughout my travels and coursework, I have seen these pillars manifest themselves in many different ways and in a variety of contexts. While no one perfectly embodies all three pillars all the time (except for the global citizen superstars), I believe they serve as a framework for how we can better engage with the world around us.

        The first pillar is cultural awareness. Of course, this begins with being aware of the stereotypes that other cultures may believe about your culture. Vice versa, making a conscious effort to look beyond the stereotypes you may hold about others. More importantly, cultural awareness requires erasing ethnocentrism, the belief that one’s own culture, ethnicity, or group is superior to all others. I first learned about this concept in my International Marketing course last semester where we discussed how ethnocentrism often influences the way people judge, evaluate, and sometimes dismiss the practices, beliefs, and values of other cultures. Becoming culturally aware begins with recognizing your own biases and actively challenging the preconceptions they create.

        Once cultural awareness develops into cultural intelligence, it allows individuals to move beyond simple tolerance and toward genuine understanding. Rather than merely accepting differences, they begin to appreciate and respect them. This enables people to better understand different social norms, traditions, values, and ways of life. Throughout this trip and my other experiences abroad, I have seen examples of this everywhere. Whether it was observing the sustainability-focused culture in Freiburg, experiencing the late dining culture in Madrid, enjoying the Széchenyi Baths in Budapest, or learning about the collectivist mindset present in many European cities, I have been reminded that there is not one "right" way to live. There are simply different ways, although some are better for the environment than others.

        The second pillar is adaptability. Being a global citizen requires learning how to navigate unfamiliar cities and cultural environments, responding calmy to unexpected challenges, and embracing new perspectives rather than immediately judging them. It means expanding your mind to the many possibilities of a city, a person, or even a dish. A dish that comes to mind is Scotland’s famous haggis which is a personal favorite of mine. Adaptable individuals approach new environments with curiosity rather than skepticism. They are willing to challenge their own assumptions and remain open to different ways of thinking and living.

        Throughout my travels, my adaptability has often been tested. Whether it was figuring out the U-Bahn & S-Bahn in Berlin (which I could not get myself to understand, despite finding the underground system in Vienna quite intuitive), attempting to order food in another language, or adjusting to different cultural norms, each experience required me to adapt. More importantly, I have found that adaptability is closely connected to empathy. It requires recognizing our shared human dignity and making the effort to understand situations from another person's perspective. It challenges us to adapt our mindset to become more compassionate and willing to cooperate across borders.

        The third and final pillar is taking action. Awareness and adaptability are important, but they accomplish little if they do not inspire action. To be a global citizen means taking responsibility not only for educating yourself and changing your habits, but also for helping educate others and creating positive change within your own community. My perspective on this pillar shifted significantly when I took Diversity and the Media, an introductory course required for journalism majors. One of my biggest takeaways from that course was the importance of questioning the forces that determine whose stories are elevated and whose stories remain unheard. As a student journalist, I often think about remaining objective in my writing, but I must think critically about the systems that influence what audiences see and do not see. This realization helped me understand that action does not always have to look like leading a large-scale protest, starting a nonprofit, or making national headlines. Sometimes taking action simply means using your own voice and platform to amplify the stories of others who may otherwise go unheard.

        One cannot simply become a global citizen overnight, nor are they born such an identity. Global citizenship is a practice shaped by personal observations, experiences, and cultivated skills that allow one to engage in a world that is constantly evolving and becoming increasingly interconnected.

        Two individuals who stand out to me as examples of global citizens and who have made a difference are Greta Thunberg and St. Carlo Acutis. What makes both individuals remarkable is not simply what they accomplished, but the passion they demonstrated at such a young age. Greta Thunberg began her solo "School Strike for Climate" outside the Swedish Parliament and sparked a global youth-led movement that elevated the climate crisis to the forefront of international political discourse. She accomplished this at only 15 years old.

        Another inspiring 15-year-old is St. Carlo Acutis. Before his death from leukemia in 2006, Acutis documented Eucharistic miracles from around the world and made them accessible online. He became known as the patron saint of the Internet and was officially canonized on September 7, 2025. Through very different paths, both Greta and Carlo demonstrated that age is not a limitation when it comes to making a positive impact on the world. They are examples of global citizens who serve as role models not only because of their accomplishments, but because they recognized a need and took action.

        I am, unfortunately, not at the level of Greta Thunberg or Carlo Acutis, nor will I likely ever be. At the ripe age of 20, I have not sparked a global movement or inspired millions of people through my actions. It is not because I believe I am powerless or too young to make a difference. In fact, this course has reinforced the opposite belief. I know that people are often far more capable than they realize, and that meaningful change frequently begins with a single act of courage.

        Yet, aside from my passion for exploring the world and educating myself about different cultures, environments, and ways of life, I recognize that my practice of global citizenship has room to grow. This experience has made me realize the urgency of my personal responsibility as a young person to create positive change, even if that shift begins with my own habits, choices, and values. Sometimes all it takes is one person or one experience to inspire someone else, and then that inspiration spreads outward through friends, family members, and communities.

        At the very least, my duty as an aspiring global citizen is to incorporate cultural awareness, adaptability, and action into my daily life. It will not always be easy, but I plan to approach it the same way I would approach learning a language, that is as something that requires prioritization and intentional daily practice until it becomes natural and intuitive over time.

        The phrase "thinking globally, acting locally" perfectly captures this idea and is the motto I hope to carry with me long after this trip concludes. It serves as an important reminder that our local actions do have global consequences, even if what I do in little Muenster, Texas, does not seem to hurt the environment. One example of this is my plan to start an Eco-Brick after returning home. I was inspired by Anna Claire’s Carbon Offset proposal and found the concept to be fascinating and a fun challenge. Although creating an Eco-Brick may seem like a small action, it is a step in the right direction toward becoming a global citizen.

        I also see myself becoming a better global citizen by incorporating more sustainable habits into my daily life and encouraging my family to do the same. I hope to share what I learned throughout this course about sustainability, energy transition, and environmental responsibility with my family and friends. More importantly, I hope to encourage conversations about how our actions affect the planet and why those impacts matter. Perhaps when I go home, I can change my family’s dinner discussion status quo.

        Over the course of these three blog posts, I have reflected on my global perspective, how I have expanded my worldview, and what it means to be a global citizen. While I am far from perfect and still have much to learn, I leave this course and study abroad experience with a greater sense of responsibility to the world. I am excited to continue traveling, learning, asking questions, and embracing new experiences. Most importantly, I look forward to living a more sustainable, curious, and globally minded way of life long after this study abroad experience comes to an end.