My gap year
My gsp year essay
It was that time of the year when school was finally coming to an end. After 12 years of classrooms, essays, athletics days, studying, Facebook when I should have been studying and, of course, the dreaded exams, it was all over. Then the much anticipated question was raised: what now?
When school ended and I was faced with the prospect of another three years of study and having to go through all the assignments, exams and pressure again, well, I sort of freaked out. I had just finished the year they all say is the most stressful, the hardest and the best year of your education and having to jump straight back into all that a few months after graduating made me want to run and hide under the covers.
Then the answer came to me, wrapped in a pretty ribbon of promise: a year of freedom, of earning money, of partying, of volunteering, of travelling the world. This was the promise of a gap year.
Having just come out the other side of my gap year I’ve begun to reflect on the year I experienced. For me, it involved spending a lot of my time working to save money for the future. I also travelled across Europe with a group of friends, visiting 12 different countries and experiencing cultures and ways of life that I had never dreamt of.
So, for all those high school graduates who are planning to take a gap year, here is some advice I wish someone had given me before. For some people a year away from studying sounds like heaven, but you need to avoid falling into the trap of just winging it. Don’t just finish school without having a plan for the year ahead or a list of goals you want to achieve. If you plan to work you should find a stable job with good hours at a place you enjoy working. If you want to travel, visit a travel agent as soon as possible or start planning all the details yourself in advance. If you like the idea of volunteering, get in contact with organisations early - places in volunteer programs are sometimes limited. Getting organised
It was that time of the year when school was finally coming to an end. After 12 years of classrooms, essays, athletics days, studying, Facebook when I should have been studying and, of course, the dreaded exams, it was all over. Then the much anticipated question was raised: what now?
When school ended and I was faced with the prospect of another three years of study and having to go through all the assignments, exams and pressure again, well, I sort of freaked out. I had just finished the year they all say is the most stressful, the hardest and the best year of your education and having to jump straight back into all that a few months after graduating made me want to run and hide under the covers.
Then the answer came to me, wrapped in a pretty ribbon of promise: a year of freedom, of earning money, of partying, of volunteering, of travelling the world. This was the promise of a gap year.
Having just come out the other side of my gap year I’ve begun to reflect on the year I experienced. For me, it involved spending a lot of my time working to save money for the future. I also travelled across Europe with a group of friends, visiting 12 different countries and experiencing cultures and ways of life that I had never dreamt of.
So, for all those high school graduates who are planning to take a gap year, here is some advice I wish someone had given me before. For some people a year away from studying sounds like heaven, but you need to avoid falling into the trap of just winging it. Don’t just finish school without having a plan for the year ahead or a list of goals you want to achieve. If you plan to work you should find a stable job with good hours at a place you enjoy working. If you want to travel, visit a travel agent as soon as possible or start planning all the details yourself in advance. If you like the idea of volunteering, get in contact with organisations early - places in volunteer programs are sometimes limited. Getting organised