Before I went to a four-year college, the thought of the gap year crossed my mind once or twice. However, it was never an option. I knew that if I brought up the idea of taking a year off I would be ridiculed and receive only disapproval from my family. There is a preconception that taking a gap year is a privilege of the wealthy, and unless you have resources to have a “meaningful” year (such as volunteering, traveling, or gaining some experiences), you take a gap year to work, save some money, and “waste time.” My mom warned me that it’s hard to get back into gear after taking a year off and this scared me. I was riding on the momentum of confidently graduating from high school with high marks, scholarships, and awards, so taking a gap year was never an option.
Then I met someone in my first year of college who had a different perspective on taking the year off. I met Kirsta while working for Arts and Lectures. She was a third-year transfer student, so UCSB was also totally new to her. She is a fascinating person and the more time we spent working together, the more I learned about her. So I decided to interview her about the motivations, thoughts, and experiences that inspired her year off:
What made you decide to take a gap year?
At the end of my senior year of high school, I had a mental breakdown, and all of the stress that had been building up in me over the last few years exploded. Talking to my mom and girlfriend at the time I decided that there was no way I could go immediately to college. I knew I needed to take a break from school and a year to just calm down and work on my mental health and live my life and find ways to be happy again, or I would’ve probably had to drop out part of the way through my freshman year of college. And I knew it would be a perfect opportunity for me to explore different interests I had and think about what I might want to do after I graduated.
Luckily unlike me, she had a strong support system and a positive approach to the gap year:
Did you feel supported in your decision? Did people disapprove of taking a year off?
My mom and girlfriend really supported my decision and both stood by me 100% with it. They thought it was a great idea to take a break from the stress and just think about me for a while. On the other hand, my college counselor who had been working with me through the college admissions process tried to talk me out of it. She really did not support the decision at all. I had gotten straight A’s my senior year and she told me I was on a great trajectory and my grades would probably suffer if I didn’t go straight to college. But she just didn’t realize that I had to kill myself my senior year to get those grades and there was absolutely no way I could go straight into college in the mental state I was in, let alone get good grades. A lot of the other students in my high school class thought it was weird. It just wasn’t a normal decision to make at my high school. And even now, I can count on one hand the number of people I’ve met who have taken a gap year.
What are some job experiences you had during this time? Did they prove to be useful? Which one would you never forget?
I did a lot of things during my gap year. I shadowed a physician for a few days, I worked as an elementary school art teacher’s aid for a few months, worked at my high school library for a few months, worked at a public library for a few months, played volleyball at my local community college for a while, and did a lot to work on my mental health. And I just lived my life. Some of the things I did were so that I could explore different interests in careers that I might do in the future, some were for fun, and some were just to work on my mental health. Working as an art teacher’s aid was perfect for me because I love art and was considering going into a career with children. Honestly though, playing volleyball was the thing I won’t forget. I hadn’t played since high school and I was able to rediscover my love for volleyball and for exercise and meet people that I still am really close to today. That actually really impacted my life and what I find important and what I love to do. I don’t know that I was successful in truly ironing out what I want to do after college, but I definitely was able to identify some possibilities. Just rediscovering my love for volleyball and exercise was enough for me to say my gap year was useful.
Are there any regrets after taking the year off?
Honestly, none. Not one. My only regret is that many other people view gap year in a negative light. And that has made me feel bad at times for taking a year off because I feel like I’m “behind” the people I graduated high school with. But no. No regrets.
For those considering taking a year off or have some relatives or friends contemplating it, they might consider Kirsta’s perspective and experience. She has no doubts about its usefulness, and her main advice is, “to consider if the college you plan on going to lets you defer a year or if you’re going to apply to a college during the gap year.” When I asked her if she enjoyed taking a year off, she shared that “it was definitely a good experience” and while you don’t go to college “you can travel, work on your mental health, explore interests and career possibilities, work on yourself, and learn new things. The possibilities are endless.” Kirsta strongly recommends taking the gap year and “doesn’t see any reasons why not.”
There’s a negative stigma attached to a gap year in the USA, unlike in Europe. One of the main reasons is the American work ethic. People are too focused on how our current education and experiences prove to be useful in our careers. I am guilty of this mindset myself, choosing my activities for how they might be advantageous in the future; sometimes the fact that it brings me joy doesn’t suffice. We feel pressured to go to college as soon as possible to take advantage of being young and full of energy. Just like my mom and Kirsta’s counselor, they had the belief that taking a gap year would be detrimental to the path towards a college degree. We all worked hard for good marks and studied for SAT/ACT for months in advance, making us believe that the path only leads straight to college and nowhere else. Kirsta herself has an interesting viewpoint on why the year off is frowned upon:
Why do you think the gap year is not a normal occurrence in the USA?
People in the US think school is going to teach kids and adolescents everything they need to know about life, which is just not true. They think that going through school back-to-back is necessary and is a sign of a person’s strength, intelligence, and resilience. So there’s a lot of stigma about gap years that the only people who take them are people who don’t know what they want to do with their lives and don’t have the inner strength to go through school as they should. It’s seen as a sign of weakness. And because that stigma is so strong, very rarely do people take gap years.
How can we change the way people view the gap year here?
We have to change the stigma behind gap years first. There are so many things you can get out of a gap year that will allow you to go to college refreshed and prepared, with strong mental health, with ideas of your interests and possible career paths, and with the knowledge that school should not be your entire life. Then we can start making gap years the norm or at least an available option like it is in so many other countries.
Presently, due to coronavirus, many American high school graduates are considering taking a gap year. Most students go to a four-year university to start their adulthood and to experience life outside of their childhood homes, but sitting in front of your computer at home defeats this purpose. Attending college and dealing with the global pandemic is stressful enough without adding disappointment of losing your freshman year to a computer screen. The Fall Quarter of my freshman year (which happened very recently, yet so long ago) was the most exhilarating experience of my life; the feeling of total freedom and yet complete responsibility for my actions was inspiring. It made me feel useful in the world, which rarely happens if you feel like a child.
I learned some valuable lessons from Kirsta’s experiences. It’s important to consider your mental health and feelings before going to/staying in college. Personally, I felt ready and excited for college; meanwhile, a lot of high school seniors feel the burnout after four years of intense schooling and require a break. I am sure a majority of college students are currently experiencing this burnout, and some are considering an academic leave. I would recommend keeping your goals in mind, but also letting a break be a personal decision. It is likely that after having some time to recollect, you can return to the path you were on before. But the road will feel lighter.
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