The announcement that First Daughter Malia Obama is planning to take a year before starting her studies at Harvard raised renewed interest in the concept of taking a “gap year” before college. Gap years are commonplace in the United Kingdom and Europe, but still remain a bit of a mystery to the American view of the natural flow towards adulthood. The traditional definition of a gap year is defined as taking a year between high school and college to travel, work or perform volunteer service. There was a time some may have mockingly called this “going to find yourself” and shook their heads at the folly of traveling around with a backpack and a rail ticket through Europe rather than getting to the real world of being a contributing member of society. However, the limited data available as compiled by the American Gap Association shows that the most beneficial impacts of those who take a gap year include:
- Greater job satisfaction
- A better sense of self and personal values/priorities
- Additional skills and knowledge to contribute to a career
- Increased motivation and performance
Improved job satisfaction, skills, motivation and performance? The saying goes that youth is wasted on the young, but in the case of gap years, they may have something we so-called grown-ups need to take a closer look at for ourselves.
“The saying goes that youth is wasted on the young, but in the case of gap years, they may have something we so-called grown-ups need to take a closer look at for ourselves.”
The struggle for work/life balance, work-related stress and overall life satisfaction continues to plague our daily lives. For those who went straight from high school to college to professional careers and families, it is easy to rack up 20 years of life without catching your breath, realizing the time has passed, or even more unsettling, without really being sure if the spot where you end up standing is actually where you want to be in life.
In comes the Grown-Up Gap Year.
Could taking a year to assess your current life and goals be right for you? We are used to investing time and money in all sorts of ways to make our lives more convenient and manageable. When you think of it in that context, it isn’t so crazy to consider investing 12 months of your life in your own future and fulfillment.
Purpose
A gap year is not just an extended vacation. It is an investment in your future. While it should be a time to recharge your inner solar panels of energy, it is important to make sure there is an end game out there somewhere besides some cool social media photo opportunities. Define what you want to accomplish during this time. Do you want to learn a language, travel, prepare for a new career, volunteer, or explore spiritual/personal growth? Or maybe the end goal is just to better define your personal values and priorities so you can set clear boundaries and guidelines for continuing on your current path. The end result doesn’t have to be dramatic, but it should be meaningful to you and improve your life in some way.
“A gap year is not just an extended vacation. It is an investment in your future.”
Preparation
The reality of life doesn’t give most of us the luxury to just pick up one day, pack a suitcase and jump on a plane for the next year to parts unknown and figure it out as we go along. A Grown-Up Gap Year requires much more preparation. It is imperative to prepare yourself financially during this period of time. Downsizing or delaying some major investments may be in order. Professionally, determine whether your employer has policies in place for a leave of absence, or perhaps whether you want to pursue other career opportunities entirely. Also, family buy-in is crucial. Partners, children and others impacted must be factored in, consulted and allowed to provide input and support. Unlike the usual post-high school gap year, it is vital to have a clear path of how you can sustain and fund an extended and perhaps uncertain change in lifestyle.
Open & Flexible
Life has taught us that everything is subject to change, and that applies to a gap year. You have to be prepared to respond and adapt to unexpected events and pivot as necessary. Maybe six months into your year, you feel you’ve accomplished what you wanted to do and move forward. Maybe you realize you need more time, or that the way you initially wanted to spend that time is no longer appropriate for your long-term plan. At the core of taking a gap year is being open to discover new things about yourself, and being flexible is key to accepting those new discoveries and determining how they will fit into your life going forward. I can speak from personal experience during my own gap year (well, actually years, but that’s another story), that I uncovered many things about myself, my interests and talents that I would never have anticipated had I not taken the time to explore my life from a different perspective. Use the opportunity to allow yourself to embrace new ideas not only about the world, but yourself.
“At the core of taking a gap year is being open to discover new things about yourself, and being flexible is key to accepting those new discoveries and determining how they will fit into your life going forward.”
The “Staycation” Grown-Up Gap Year
While the idea of taking a year off is appealing, again the reality of life (and family, money, work, etc.) may limit your ability to do something of that magnitude. However, don’t let that seeming limitation stop you from taking advantage of the benefits a gap year can provide. You can still pursue activities and opportunities that can allow you to grow both personally and professionally. With the same purpose, preparation and flexibility, you can find ways to incorporate gap year activities into your current life.
- Back-to-School: Enroll in local or online classes in areas that interest you or that you want to improve
- Volunteer: Commit to a long-term volunteer service program that is meaningful to you
- Personal Time: Take time for yourself either at home or away, not only to decompress, but to plan, meditate and focus on your dreams for the future
- Challenge Yourself: Start doing things that are out of your comfort zone - public speaking, skydiving, camping – anything that triggers your “No Way” instinct
A “staycation” gap year doesn’t require quite the same level of sacrifice and disruption, but it does require the same level of commitment to carving out the time for yourself to work on making the changes and improvements that are important to you. In fact, it may take more commitment because you will have to overcome the pull of everyday life and responsibilities to make it happen.
A Grown-Up Gap year may not be for everyone, but if you have the ability to make the time for it, the experience could be life-changing and set you on a path of personal and professional fulfillment you never imagined.
Learn more at Thrive Coaching Solutions
Follow Tonya Echols on Twitter www.twitter.com/TonyaEchols
This article originally appeared on Mission: Thrive
Graduating from high school and taking the next big step toward college can be daunting, so a growing number of students are choosing to take a gap year to focus on personal growth. Whether you spend a year traveling, volunteering or working, we’d love to share your story. If you’d like to contribute a text or video piece, please email gapyear@huffingtonpost.com and tell us all about your experience.
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