The rush to grow up is extremely apparent in American society. With high school teachers encouraging college, and college professors preaching about the āreal world," it is hard to think of doing anything other than the expected. I am fortunate enough to have followed my intuition, and although I value the advice of my teachers and peers, I decided to take a gap year in Israel before coming to college. Not a day goes by that I don't reflect on the life lessons that I learned during that time. Although most people reading this are already in college and cannot take the same time off I did, it is never too late to take a different path than your peers before attending graduate school, starting a career, or even finishing college. Although initially it may seem like a set back, I'll tell you why taking a year off put me ahead of the other college freshman and why I would recommend taking time off (but really, it's time on) to anyone.
As my senior year of high school came to a close, I was burnt out. I had invested so much of my time into studying, SATs, applications, and extracurricular activities that I felt like I had nothing else left in me. Upon graduation, there was a weight lifted off my shoulders. I went into the summer knowing that come September, when my friends would be moving into their dorms, buying books, and starting the long hours of studying, I would be on a flight across the world to travel, meet new people, and, most importantly, grow. Taking the time off before starting college enabled me to be refreshed and ready to work my hardest when the time for me to start school came around the following fall. When I started college, I was better at subjects that were difficult for me in high school. Friends that I made on my gap year got accepted to schools that they had previously been denied or waitlisted from when they applied the first time. Even Ivy League schools are encouraging gap years to their applicants. In fact, Harvard University's website posted, āHarvard College encourages admitted students to defer enrollment for one year to travel, pursue a special project or activity, work, or spend time in another meaningful way." Academically, having a year full of real life experiences has proven to make more independent and responsible college students that universities want on their campuses.
As an 18-year-old I lived in another country, had my own apartment, and cooked my own food. I grew more then I could have ever expected. If I didn't go grocery shopping or do my laundry, then I did not eat or have clean clothes. My parents were thousands of miles away, and I gained a sense of independence that made my adjustment to college easier than the average freshmen. However, studying abroad is not the only beneficial gap year option. Sophomore Emily Maggs spent the year after she graduated high school working for Savannah Music Festival. When asked what her gap year experience gave her she said, āTaking a gap year was the best thing that I could have done. I wasn't clear on what I wanted to do before my gap year, and it presented me with an internship that helped me decide what I wanted to do. My gap year opened up a lot of doors for me in the work field."
This past December, I returned to Israel for the first time since my gap year. I spent time with many of my Israeli friends and it continues to blow my mind thinking about how different our societies are. Every 18-year-old Israeli joins the army for a minimum of two years for girls and three years for boys. After they are done with the army, they travel for a couple of months. Only after that do they take Israel's SAT equivalent test and enroll in school. Most college freshmen in Israel are 24 and older, and they thrive without society pressuring them to grow up. When they go to school, they have a little bit more of an idea of what they want to do, unlike most 18 year olds in America who change their major multiple times and then still don't know what they want they want to be when they grow up.
Deciding to take time off can be a tough decision. It's not easy going against the status quo and doing something out of the ordinary, but it is important to remember that there is not one āright way" to grow up. Despite American society's pressure to go straight from high school to college and then graduate school or a career, I encourage you to think for yourself and what will make you the happiest and most successful adult you can be. I can say with full confidence that taking a gap year transformed me into the strong, self-sufficient college student that I am today.
