A gap year is are an ideal approach to discovering and learning all about what life has to offer. Many countries are supportive of students taking a year off between high school and college, and there are plenty of advantages of taking such an educational hiatus. Many people mistakenly assume that society pressures students into taking a year off from school, but this is hardly the case. Even the country’s First Daughter, Malia, has taken a gap year prior to the start of her schooling at Harvard.
To several individuals, gap years are akin to trust-fund babies with silver spoons in their mouths, but this is a misnomer. A gap year isn’t so much a break as it is an investment in life.
There’s plenty to do during a gap year. You can work, volunteer, travel, intern, study independently, or a combination of these activities. You might even want to spend your gap year in one particular community, or visit several within a year’s time! You can opt for a program that lasts a year, or develop your own by mixing up your opportunities.
1 – Discover The Endless Possibilities
Regardless of how intelligent we believe we are, we are only as smart as the information accessible to us. Traveling overseas is an amazing approach to learning new things and expanding your wealth of knowledge.
There are plenty paths of life to go down, and an abundance of academic majors and careers you might not even be privy to. There are career fields available that high school doesn’t even acknowledge, such has anthropology, international development, snake milking, and so much more. Traveling overseas can teach you about these academic majors and careers that go beyond the traditional options of a lawyer, doctor, teacher, etc. As fun as it would be to have a career in social media marketing or be a postal carrier, the jobs you can have abroad might be unheard of where you live.
Discover New Passions and Choices!
Without taking a year off, you’ll never learn about what volunteering at an event halfway around the world feels like. You’ll get to eat international dishes that aren’t available in your neck of the woods. You’ll learn about foods that heal that an American college can’t teach you. Take a gap year and expose yourself to new environments!
2 – You’ll be more prepared when you begin your post-secondary education
Research indicates that people who take a year off do better in college and are more content with their careers after graduating. Harvard’s admissions officers agree, stimulating students like Malia Obama into taking a year off. A gap year can minimize burnout and enhance campus involvement and GPA.
With the rise of college tuition, no one wants to risk their investment by sending an uninterested student into a college they’re not focused on.
With a gap year under your wing, you’ll start college ready to excel, join student clubs, and make new connections. You can share your adventures abroad with your new friends and be the most popular student around. You’ll be seen as a leader with the experience you have, and work your way up to graduating Summa Cum Laude!
3 – Understanding yourself better
This might be the first time away from home, and without the hassle and foundation of college, it’s the ideal time to spend figuring yourself out. What do you believe in? Not what were you conditioned to believe, but what are your personal beliefs? What is your definition of happiness? What are you passionate about? What makes you angry? Are they the same things as what everyone else hates, or is there something you personally can do without? Maybe you listen to the same music as your friends, but deep down inside, you truly can’t stand those songs. Taking a gap year gives you a chance to develop your own character, thoughts, passions, interests, and loves.
A gap year gives you a chance to figure these things out. As you get to understand the world better, you’ll learn who you are outside of your comfort zone. In doing so, you’ll discover things you didn’t even know about yourself. Perhaps you have a hidden talent, can learn languages easily, or excel at an activity of some sort. Being placed in foreign positions gives you the opportunity to discover some personal revelations!
4 – You can become a global citizen by volunteering abroad during a gap year
In this fast-paced global world, production lines give us the things we want, but what we buy affects the country who manufactured them. The Internet has connected everyone around the world and has given us the chance to become global citizens.
You can become a responsible and engaged global citizen as part of this bold new world we live in. In doing so, you’ll develop new skills and abilities that can help you understand and contribute to the community you’re in!
Whether you do this overseas or in own locale, helping others helps you find your role in the world. There are plenty of troubles anywhere you go, such as hunger, inequality, pollution, and poverty, all of which can be lessened by an individual willing to help. What problems strike a chord with you that yo
u can positively contribute to? What ski
lls can you learn in doing so? Perhaps being a volunteer would instill a passion for public health and you’ll decide to pursue a medical career by going to med-school. Perhaps you’ll fall in love with teaching people new things and decide to work with children in your own neighborhood.
Most people realize that volunteering can be advantageous in the long-term for their communities, careers, and their personal lifestyles. You can even locate accredited gap year programs developed to masterfully aid students in reaching their potential while overseas. Ensure you do some research on volunteer opportunities in depth before diving in!
5 – You’ll become more adaptable
A gap year can put test your mettle in a whole new way, more so than extracurricular or academic activities in secondary school can. A gap year can include language and cultural challenges. Perhaps you’ll be challenged to help save some tigers or patch a roof in a housing project; it will surely be different from the homework you’re used to doing!
You’ll become more adaptable through such challenges. Studies show that students who take a year off from school are more prepared for transitions, which is very useful in a world where people modify careers and locations frequently. Being flexible can come handy in every career.
6 – Rejuvenate your heart and mind
Most students endure burnout, and arrive at campus tired from college tours, standardized testing, application forms, prom, extracurriculars…you name it. That kind of stress is no picnic. Taking a gap year to recharge and revitalize yourself before allocating a big part of your time is healthy and beneficial in the long-run.
During a gap year, you’ll learn new things via one challenge after another, more so than you can learn from a book during a 45-minute class. You can let your brain take it easy from reading for a year and give it more exposure to new environments. Becoming the best person you can be doesn’t involve a conventional education in front of a chalkboard. Get a whole new perspective on life through a gap year instead of through a series of expensive textbooks.
Spend some time researching your gap year choices, talk to people who have taken one before, and ponder your options. If you opt to take a year off from school for the right reasons, show this article to your parents and ask for their opinions. Their reaction might surprise you!
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