Take My Advice

If there’s one piece of advice that I’ve learned over the last year and that I’d give to other students planning their gap year, it’s to trust yourself. I’ve always been an overly introspective and critical person which I know many people my age are. We’re young and naive and often many of us have yet to really experience the world on our own. Thus, since starting these past 12 months, there have definitely been moments where I doubted myself. From whether it was the right the decision to choose a different academic path to if I was crazy for thinking I could move to a new country by myself to trying to figuring out who I was without school, I constantly second guessed every action and their possible reactions, especially in the beginning. However, a year smarter and on the other side of it all, I can say all that worry was for nothing and if you go through it too, I assure you that it’s completely normal. Changes, especially those that involve large milestones, will always be scary. Nevertheless, it’s better to have taken the harder path and come out the other side stronger and more knowledgeable than to have done what’s easy and wondered for the rest of your life “What if?” In times of stress remember that in your life you have probably gone through situations where you felt there was no way out but somehow you made it to the other side and each of those moments has brought you to the exact one you’re at. You can get through this one too and, if you need it, remember that you’re not alone. Though I had figure out much for myself, there was always the helping hand of my gap year advisor and fellow gap year members to fall back on. I had a community to help me and remind me that I wasn’t the only one on this journey. We all had things to struggle through and find our ways through the other side, so don’t be afraid to reach out.