5 Benefits Of Gap Year That You Should Take Before Going To The University

5 Benefits Of Gap Year That You Should Take Before Going To The University


Posted at: 25 Nov 2020
1565 Views

Article by: LIM Buntheng

Edited by: WEduShare
 

If you do not know what to study after high school, this is because you have so much to discover yet so little time. Being raised on cradle-to-university value, you may be afraid to take a gap year. What you do not know is that Harvard, the Ivy League school, encourages students to take gap year into consideration.

Gap Year is normally a year before college where students take a break from school. It also can be from a semester up to 2 years. Moreover, it can be before or during you get into your professional career or university. To be honest, it really depends on your preference.  Personally, I define it as an opportunity to explore yourself and do what you love to do. Moreover, there are many things to do in your gap year. You may involve yourself in the professional world by taking a full-time job or internship. You can also take time to explore the world and society through traveling and volunteering. Or in some cases, you can just spend time with your family, and research about what you like to do and what your major should be by participating in short courses or trying something new. Here are the reasons you should take a pre-college gap year:

You get inspired

No matter what you like to do, you will eventually meet similar-minded people. These people will eventually inspire you without your knowledge as they support you to follow your dream when other people turn your dream to shame. Inspiration is an important thing to achieving your dream, so take this opportunity to find yours.

You get mature

When in school, you know where you stand by comparing your grade with others. So, how do you know where you stand when you are out of school? This is when you learn to let go of your categorical thinking, the boundary of your thoughts. Thus, once you stop focusing too much on a small aspect of your life and start to see the big picture, you realize that life is about learning and developing yourself mentally and physically like Mike Hernacki once said, “Life is not about accomplishments; it’s all about doing, participating, progressing, growing, learning.”

You discover yourself

You are able to find ways to describe yourself. For example, instead of monotonously saying you are a leader, you define what type of leader you are. By exploring yourself, you know which intelligence, strengths, and weaknesses, as well as the passion you possess. Similarly, you realize some of your habits that you find useless are actually potential. These things help you to finger out what your jobs and goals are.

You are ready for university

You are able to evaluate the pros and cons of one major, double majors, dual majors, or major-minor, and the struggle of what major you should take is not a problem anymore as you know what to apply for college. Likewise, you have the courage to choose passion over obligation as you know that the majority of people work in a different field from what they have studied. So, if you are body smart, why do you want to focus on studying international relations just to become a digital marketer later?

You improve your curriculum vitae by doing what you love

You may work for Brown because you like interacting with and meeting new people. You may be a volunteer as you like helping people. You may solo travel since you like exploring. These kinds of things define you as a person, and you cannot have done all those things without competencies such as teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and so on, which help you in your competency-based CV.

Overall, it is your choice to decide whether or not gap year is right for you, and it is your responsibility not to lose track of getting your education just because you enjoy doing what you love. Yet, you may come to the realization that you might not have such a chance again. Life is too short, so why not do what you enjoy?


 

***This article is the property of WEduShare Co, Ltd. and is originally published at www.wedushare.com. Please note that NO article on WEduShare.com may be copied or reproduced in any form without prior permission.

***Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of WEduShare Co, Ltd. 

Powered by Froala Editor