Of all things I've been doing in my gap year from school, being lazy isn't one of them. But when I face parents and adults asking me what my major is, the negative stigma around gap years is re affirmed when I get the unamused looks in return, and instantly I feel the need to start defending myself and handing them my daily schedule.

I'm not sitting at home watching movies on my parent's couch.

Earlier this year, I was working four jobs. I'd wake up at 3am, pack up my car for the day, and not usually get home until 10pm that evening. Almost every day was me trying to gain as much experience (and spending/saving money) as I could, while also still trying to fit in my hobbies like going to the gym and doing photography. I wanted hands on experience, to meet people who were at very different points in their lives, not to end switching my major at college 4 times before graduation.

I'm not really hanging out with friends.

I think another assumption is that I'm spending most evenings with my friends, going out and doing whatever I want wherever I want. But let's face it, most of my friends have chosen college, so usually unless I plan a visit or wait for them to come home from break, my biggest parties are held with me and my radio on late drives home.

I'm not spending money I don't have to travel.

I don't find this to be a negative for anyone that takes gap years to travel and gain world experience, in fact I think that's awesome. But I don't have the means to travel yet, so right now I'm building up a savings to be able to do that someday.

I wasn't forced into a gap year.

I applied to colleges, and I actually got in everywhere I applied. I've gotten the lectures about how lucky we are to have great education here and that I should take advantage of it, and I agree completely and feel so lucky to live in a country with so much opportunity, but choosing not to go wasn't an act of ungratefulness. In fact, choosing not to go was probably the hardest part of my gap year, but when it came down to it, the future debt was a huge price to pay to show my appreciation.

I am thinking about my future.

In fact, that's all I'm thinking about. The truth is, I didn't want to spend the money to get a degree I wasn't sure I needed, despite the heavy pressure I felt all through my senior year, and through the small envy I felt when I saw my friends getting great experience at college. Not choosing a standard college path to me meant choosing to do it on my own, so I have refused to waste time and be the lazy non-student people think of when they know I'm not in school.

All in all, I've been very fortunate for how my gap year has turned out. I've gotten to quit all my part time jobs and get to pursue a full time job in my dream career field. I know not all students have the same in their gap year, and I'm grateful for the opportunities I've gotten, but those things didn't fall on my lap while I was eating potato chips on my mom's couch. I admire my friends who are working hard at college, and I admire my friends who are working hard at home. But people can be lazy at college, and they can be just as lazy at home, and I'd just like my success to be judged by my work, not by the degree-in-progress I may or may not have in my hand.