Thus far, my gap year has led me out of my comfort zone in many aspects. From pursuing what I thought other people wanted for me, to learning more about my passion and turning it into a career.
I’ve been brave in my gap year by making the choice to venture into an area I usually don’t frequent, to volunteer at a school with people I’d never met, with children that primarily speak Spanish. Going into this, I was convinced the kids would hate me and I’d dread volunteering. To my surprise, the kids like talking to me and playing games with me, so much so that the program teacher has offered a formal internship to me. I am proud of myself for following through with my commitment.
Being kind has been a big theme for my gap year. Kindness toward strangers, friends, family, and myself. For instance, people are getting sick at my retail job more frequently now, and I volunteer to come in when I’m not scheduled or stay for longer if they need help. At the after school program I volunteer at, a teacher had a family emergency for a few days, and I told her I’d come in and lead the kids while she’s out. These experiences are helping me reach my goal of becoming more independent and comfortable making my own decisions.
A failure of mine was an online internship I participated in earlier this year. I didn’t feel connected to the people in the program, I wasn’t interested in the material, and I didn’t feel properly prepared to execute the tasks of the internship. Therefore, I did not do my fair share of work and it felt like a waste of time. Luckily, I have other experiences that keep me engaged and excited to work on.
Studying for my personal training exam has been a lot of fun, as well. My favorite part of the material is that I can translate it into my own workouts and see real world applications immediately. It makes me so excited to learn at a deeper level when I take higher level anatomy and physiology class in college.
Overall, these experiences have helped me grow into my passions, learn more about my style of learning, and love the journey that I’m on this year. I am eager to see what the rest of 2022 brings.
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