by Laurel Chor, 12 August 2007

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“Oh… Did you not get into anywhere?”

Apparently the phrase “gap year” has some negative connotations.

It is not merely “time off”. It’s true that I could spend my time sleeping in, going to the beach, stuffing my face and watching whole seasons of Arrested Development daily. But I have no doubt that the year ahead of me will be more challenging than my first year in college. Writing a mathematical proof or a literary essay is less difficult and certainly infinitely more boring, than building a school in Kenya. My time will be equally or more productive and educational as a year of traditional school. I will be immersing myself in numerous cultures and ecosystems, learning Spanish and Swahili, teaching children, building houses, even gaining experience in malnutrition centers in developing countries to find out whether or not I truly want to pursue a medical career – and if I do, I would be giving myself an edge in med school applications.

And all before I’m even in college.

I could never cram as many adventures as I wanted to in my short summer breaks. I had always spoken lightly about taking a gap year, but the first time I took the option seriously was when I was in Kolkata working at orphanages on a school trip during my last year in High School. I realized that there was so much that I wanted to do and so much that I could do, and that the 14 months in between high school and college were the perfect time to do it. In 2000, Harvard’s admissions office famously advised students to take “time out or burn out”. After 14 consecutive years of school, I think that we have all earned a little break.

Initially, my parents had scoffed in my face at my proposal. In fact, my sister, older than me by 5 years, was not allowed to take a gap year. But they were eventually convinced when I assured them I would still be guaranteed a spot in college. I also showed them countless brochures from companies offering safe and organized programs geared not only towards gappers like me, but also to virtually anyone over the age of 18. Now they are completely supportive and actually, quite proud. They see this as an investment. The long-term benefits of a well-planned gap year far exceed the inconveniences, whether financial or otherwise, of a one year delay of college. Perhaps a key element to their support is their trust in me: they have always believed that I alone know what is best for me and my future.

When I first made the decision and got my parents’ approval, I could not get over the fact that I would indeed be disrupting the plan I had for myself since as long as I could remember. I was overwhelmed with excitement as I began exploring all of the possibilities. I decided I would spend the first half of my year in Central and South America, then head on to Africa.

Now, of course I am still excited beyond belief. Day to day existence has become mundane and trivial (“Hah! Calculus? I will be trekking Bolivia’s salt deserts in 3 months!”).

But frankly, I’m terrified. Now that I am putting together an itinerary, booking flights, applying for visas… It’s slowly dawning upon me that I will be leaving in a few months and not coming back for more than I have ever been away (though one of my parents’ conditions is coming back home for Christmas vacation. I don’t think I have the courage to leave for an entire year anyway). I will be alone in countries where I know no one and will be forced to put myself out there and socialize. I could be staying with host families that don’t speak English in Guatemala, living weeks straight without electricity or running water in Ecuador, working alongside volunteers much older than me in Zambia, facing a classroom full of Tanzanian children (or adults) and expected to teach, or living out of a truck with twenty strangers aged 18 – 60 on a month-long expedition across three countries. And sometimes, I have absolutely no idea what I’ll be doing.

But one does not “find oneself” in a stable and familiar environment. I want to see how I will react: when I’m a lone foreigner, will I go out and interact with locals and other travelers or will I stay in my room and watch TV? Will I trust people and make new friends for life, or refuse to take a risk and not forge any new relationships? I honestly don’t know what I will do. But I plan on finding out. It’s like an experiment or an obstacle course of my own design, except I am my own subject.

Sure, there are dangers, but I think it is well worth all risks and I am completing as much research and preparation as I can. Besides, an adventure isn’t truly adventurous if there isn’t a certain degree of uncertainty involved. One piece of advice for lone female travelers I’ve read: wear a fake wedding ring and speak of a fictitious husband and child.

But for some, the biggest danger is the extinguishing of all desire to return to the bland life of formal, higher learning. Though I do not know what I will be like when I return (others’ visions have included a dread-locked, smelly, vegan guru), I believe I will head off to college in Fall of 2008 as an immeasurably more independent and mature young adult who knows with confidence what she wants to be and who would be much more appreciative of a college education.

My gap year has started and I have already been to Thailand and Nepal. In Nepal I lived at an orphanage with a friend for a short while. It was a new experience: there was no supervision, no structured itinerary and we were given complete independence. Though I had my doubts and my fears about taking a gap year, that short 12-day trip managed to make more excited than ever for the year ahead. I managed to do so much: I taught orphans a crude version of touch rugby, helped them with their homework, took them to the zoo, and learned some Nepali… I also went bungee jumping, canyoning, canyon swinging, white water rafting, mountain biking to the Tibetan border. It is overwhelming how much I can do in a whole entire year, and I am prepared to take it on.

Now is one of the few prime times to take a gap year. I have no true responsibilities – I have no job, no bills, no kids and no spouse (Not to say only teenagers can have adventures. A few of the adventure travel programs emailed me back telling me their programs were designed for 30+ year olds). College will always be there, but the right circumstances to take an extended break might not align for years.

Some tell me that I am daring, but I am only an idealist wanting an adventure with a mere 17 years under her belt. George Bernard Shaw once said: “Youth is wasted on the young” – but I do not plan on letting that happen.

Please also read:

LIFE LESSONS - MIND THE GAP! THE GAP YEAR EXPERIENCE!...By Chris Lau, 5 August 2009
http://www.icubed.us/node/1898