The term “taking time off” is slowly becoming more acceptable among millennials; we are becoming more and more comfortable with the possibility of the unknown. The unsureness of what comes after high school or after four years of undergraduate education is making its way to being a normal part of our everyday lives.
There are many of us, however, that don’t like the unpredictability of what will happen if we don’t have a plan. Or maybe it’s our parents, significant others or other important people in our lives that have difficulty understanding how we can be so unsure.
The pressure of finding a career in your field immediately out of college is completely overrated. Unless you’re one of the very few that landed the perfect internship in college and has everything all lined up, it is likely that you are experiencing post-graduation anxiety.
Moving back in with your parents after four long years of being away; stressful job interviews in an uncomfortable pantsuit you have never worn before; making sure all of the right skills and qualifications are on your resume for each position you apply for. It’s not realistic.
In our early twenties, we shouldn’t be experiencing stressors such as these. We should be enjoying our lives and taking in every work experience and life experience we can get. We have the rest of our lives to worry.
The truth is, the uncertainty of it all can end up helping us in the long run. Taking a gap year in between high school and college, or undergraduate education and graduate school or starting a career can be one of the best decisions of your life. Here’s why:
You get job experience. As much as I love school, education and being in a classroom, I truly believe that an 18-year-old is incapable of deciding their future. The only way to figure out what you truly what to do with your life is by getting out into the real world and getting some life experience.
You may find out that you enjoy doing something completely different from what you ever imagined. Or you may have the worst possible boss and co-workers on the planet. Either way, you learn from it. You gain life experience most of us don’t get in the bubble that is college.
You get to “play adult” for a little while. Having a job and being on a schedule is great. The daily grind can really be beneficial and you get an idea of what it is like to be a “real adult” while you still have an excuse not to be. After work, happy hours become a thing, and work friends become real friends. And, if you’re lucky enough to live at home at 23, you get the added benefit of a fully-stocked fridge at all times.
You grow up a little bit. When I graduated with a degree in English, I fell victim to the question many people had asked me when I revealed I was an English major. “What am I going to do with this degree?” I looked for jobs in my field but I never quite found something that suited what I was searching for. This is where the anxiety set in.
The difference in mind set that I have from December 2015 to now is that of a completely different person. I moved home, became a nanny for a family very different from mine, and spent time with my own family; grandparents, mom, aunts, uncles, cousins. Through my experiences, I figured out what I really want to do with my life. As time goes on, we mature. We encounter things outside of the box of education that help in molding the people we are.
You have the opportunity to travel. Whether it’s in the United States, to a different country, or down the street to a new coffee shop you never went to. Taking a life breather gives you the opportunity to stop and smell the roses, and take in new places all around you.
