Taking a gap year, when it is traditionally thought of, is when a student takes a year off after graduating high school to volunteer, intern, backpack, travel, etc. before continuing their education at a college or some secondary form of education. The idea of taking a gap year is more popular in places in Europe, such as England.

I can't understand why the idea of a gap year is so much less-prevalent in America, because of all of its benefits.

I have always believed that travel is education. I have learned more about life and people from my experiences traveling in and out of the country than I have in any classroom.

The value of traveling to different places and learning about new cultures first-hand is unmatchable, and even your colleges and universities know this: that's why they offer study abroad.

Now, study abroad is a great opportunity and has its benefits, but it is nothing compared to going off on your own, or with a group of friends, and discovering the culture for yourself. It's more than taking a few extracurricular classes required by your university and going out at night; it's about fully emerging yourself in the lifestyle, culture, and work-force of an entirely different culture than your own. You aren't visiting somewhere, you are living there.

Taking a gap year or two right out of high school, or after college, like I plan to do, will give you more awareness of the world around you. Being from America, we learn a lot about our own history and why our government and lifestyle is the way that it is, yet, we don't learn that much about other cultures.

Learning about other places, people, and cultures can help us figure out what our own values are and help us be more understanding of other people.

Traveling outside of your own bubble can show you that you love where you live or that you want to live somewhere completely different than where you are now. You would have the opportunity to visit different places and decide what you do and don't agree with and what you do or don't like about the experience.

If you never travel and live in a new place, you'll never know how much you love or dislike your current home!

First-hand experience living in a foreign place can give you more resume-building qualities than any domestic internship or job you could ever land. Being able to live comfortably in a place that you have never been and adapting your lifestyle will help you grow as a person, a student, a friend, a co-worker, and so on. It can change you in ways you couldn't imagine. Beyond just the selfish reasons of learning where you want to live and what your values are, you learn about other people.

It cannot be put into words how valuable it is to understand and sympathize with different cultures and people.

We need more cultured, well-rounded individuals in our country. America, you need to more than normalize the gap year. You need to encourage and embrace it!