On Taking A Gap Year

Today I want to talk about the "gap year" phenomena. A "gap year" for those who don't know, is a term for taking a year off between high school and university or any other post-secondary education. For most people in North America, the progression of life is:  graduate from high school, go to university.

There is a lot of controversy over the issue of the "gap year", and numerous articles stating the pros and cons.

Right now I'm in the midst of my gap year. My experience with my gap year so far has been amazing. I'm working at a school in the Philippines. I've met so many people, learned so much, and come to appreciate the world in an entirely new way. I've also come to a much greater understanding of things than I did before.

I'm also so psyched to go back to school. At the end of last year, the last thing I wanted to do was more school. I miss it so much though! I miss studying, I miss learning. I learned how to convert cassettes to mp3s the other day and that 5 minutes of learning was the best part of my day just because I love it so much.

So obviously I'm in support of the gap year. But like anything, you have to find what works for you. I read a lot of writing blogs that always give that advice - yeah, look at all this writing advice out there, but you don't have to follow all of it. Do what works for you.

Same goes for gap years. You don't have to take a gap year if that's not what works for you. You don't have to go and volunteer somewhere for a year (although I think traveling is a great way to open your mind, especially to developing countries), you don't have to work and earn money for a year, but you can. And you can go to university right away too. It depends on you, and what works best for you and your needs.

So, this advice might not apply to you specifically, but maybe it will help someone in the long run. :)