To those of you who are reading this, half of you have probably never heard of a gap year. Another fourth of you are probably only reading this because we are friends. No one talks about gap years and most people have never even considered taking a gap year. Before I took my gap year, I had no idea that people took them. It wasn’t until my senior year when I participated in a Holocaust remembrance trip in Israel that I heard of one. While in Israel, I ran into my friend Jessica and was quickly introduced to all of her friends. She told me how she was having the best year of her life on Year Course. She looked so carefree and happy, laughing among people that seemed to be her best friends. I thought about how happy she looked and I wanted to be that happy too. Little did I know that taking a gap year would be the best decision I ever made.
About a month after seeing Jessica in Israel, I deferred from Occidental College. Until then, I had never made such a big decision. I opted to pause my life, take a year off from school and spend time in Israel. To this day I don’t know exactly why I made this choice; something just told me that if I didn't go to Israel, I might regret it for the rest of my life.
In the weeks leading up to Year Course I remember thinking, what in the world am I doing? I was about to move to the other side of the world for nine months, with 70 people who I did not know. When I got to Israel, I quickly realized I had no clue what I was in store for. I had no idea that a large majority of the kids on the program had known each other their whole lives and I immediately felt so excluded and alone that I wanted to leave. I deeply considered leaving and admittedly cried about 10 times in the first week alone, but thanks to Jessica, I decided to stick it out—and thank God I did.
Taking a gap year changed my life in ways that I could not have even imagined. The lessons you learn while living across the world alone are not ones that you can learn in the classroom. Before Year Course, I was constantly second guessing myself. I was unable to get along with a lot of people around me. I was stressed, bored and unhappy. On Year Course, I learned how to let myself be happy. I remember sitting on my bed, smiling to myself because I realized that for the first time, I felt truly happy. I was not constantly trying to impress the people around me, but I was completely comfortable being myself. I cared that I was working on myself mentally, learning to be less anxious and to stand up for myself. I was just so thankful to be able to live and learn in a country that I felt so connected to. I learned how to think outside of my parents’ house, and how to interact with different kinds of people. I learned how to be flexible and not try to control every situation. I learned that everyone has a story and that everyone is the way they are for a reason.
One of the most important things I learned on Year Course is that you do not have to be friends with everyone. It is okay to not see eye to eye with people. Just because you do not click with someone does not mean that something is wrong with either of you. My gap year saved me mentally because it gave me a chance to figure out what I wanted in life. I finally learned that if you ignore your mental health, you will explode. Thanks to my gap year, I met friends I will have for my entire life who I never would have met otherwise. I traveled to Jordan, Paris, Morocco and Greece. I learned to surf, worked in a Youth Village and on an army base. I experienced life on a kibbutz. I learned Hebrew (kind of) and became a part of Israeli society. I gained the perspectives and insights of many brilliant speakers and teachers. I had the privilege of experiencing life in a way that many people will never understand. And finally, I was able to experience what actual happiness felt like.
