I have once again been contacted by Onlinecolleges.com to comment on one of their blog posts "7 Things You Can Do During a Gap Year", which thrills me. This particular one was especially intriguing to me because earlier last week, my hall director turned best friend, Adam and I were discussing how he spent his "gap year."
Taking a gap year between undergraduate school and graduate school is a common option for many young adults. Adam spent a month living in St. Paul with his friend Paul (he didn't see the correlation there until I pointed it out), working odd jobs including acting as a substitute teacher for a middle school sex ed course, and traveling around Europe for two weeks.
In less than a year I will have to figure out exactly how I want my life, or at least the next year or so, to look after graduation. This article details the plethora of options college students can look into during their gap year, or even their gap summer which will probably be the case for me before I start my graduate work.
Here is what I think of their list:
1. Travel
Oh hells yes! As a PA I haven't had the chance to leave Augie's campus and explore all the nooks and crannies of the world that I know I will. My gap summer will definitely be spent exploring and seeing different versions of myself around the world. I know that me in Ireland or China or New Zealand would be different than the me at Augie.
2. Work
Obviously the least exciting option but quite necessary. So many of my friends that graduated just a couple weeks ago are on the job hunt. Do what you love and enjoy being wherever you are, even if it is work.
3. Volunteer
I really like this option and I think a lot of us young adults forget this very excellent way to spend our time. I was really impressed when my friend Jackie said she was going to volunteer while she is completely pharmacy school.
4. Study
So many of my friends and I consider ourselves lifetime learners and we haven't even lived that much of our lives. Studying doesn't necessarily mean sitting by artificial lighting forcing information into our brains. However I think reading a good book, people watching, and going for nature walks can all be considered studying. Or that just might be the hippie in me...
5. Meditate
Oh goodness yes. After a grueling, non-stop four years take some time to breathe and feel yourself touch the ground. Feel yourself centered and experiencing things as they happen not as they fly past you.
6. Get Healthy
College can often make us less healthy than we would prefer. Take the opportunity and ability to make grownup decisions and plan and cook your own meals and develop exercise plans that you enjoy. I think even maintaining your friendships makes you a healthier you. Healthy is a very broad term so determine what kind of healthy you want to be and what works for you.
7. Be Creative
I firmly believe that doing something creative even once a week makes us feel like a better version of ourselves. Get paint on your hands, push your intellect to write, make your own baubles and jewelry. Even updating our wardrobes and wearing outfits that are thoughtfully put together is an expression of creativity.
I try to stress this to as many people as possible and especially to anyone that really needs to hear it: As young adults we are in our prime. There is nothing we can't do and we truly can determine what we want our lives to look like. Decide what kind of person you want to be and utilize many different outlets to do so. Enjoy your four years and look forward to the next stage of cultivating the person you became in college to the person you will be for the next chapter and for the rest of the world.
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