Who said that a gap year can only occur once? And why do they only happen between high school and uni? Gap years should be taken as often as needed. Don’t think that course is right for you? Need a mental break? Sick of conforming to the capitalist system and working for the man? Take a bloody gap year. 

Gap years give us the opportunity to explore other hobbies and passions, that the regimented schedule and exhaustion from our day-to-day life often denies us. Instead of rushing into a full-time job after uni, I decided to take a gap year. After four years of studying a double degree, juggling multiple jobs and all the other real-world crap in between, I figured I deserved a year where I focused on myself. I picked up a couple of casual hospitality jobs, decided to try my hand at a bit of freelance writing whenever an idea stumbled into my brain, and the rest of the time was up to me.

The Year Without Limits 

There was never really a plan of things I wanted to achieve during my gap year, except to not plan and see what happened.

I wanted to rid myself of the pressure to constantly be productive and instead spend more time doing things because I wanted to, not because I thought I should. But switching off that niggling voice that tells you to constantly be doing something isn’t easy. Especially after 16 years of filling your spare time with homework, readings and assessments.  

I spent a lot of my time alone. Sometimes by choice. Often because I wanted to go for a drive, or to the beach or for a bush walk, and everyone I knew was at work or uni. But I didn’t want to miss out, just because I had no one to go with.  

I tried to say yes to as many things as possible. I took an art class. I learned how to surf. Kinda. I went on my first solo road trip. I got drunk. A lot. More than any other year of my life. I went to parties in warehouses, swamps and on mountains. I helped restart a fossil fuel divestment campaign at my university. I marched through the streets of Melbourne with hundreds of other young people, demanding climate action. I went on dates. Mostly good. Some ending horrifically. I got a writing job. I lost a writing job. I cried while watching some of my favourite musicians. I danced late into the night to bands I’d never heard of before. I explored more of my city than I had in the last three years. I was ghosted.  

I made many, many new friends. 

A Gap Year Is Better At 24 Anyway 

My gap year gave me a chance to figure out what I wanted to do when time was no longer a barrier. It gave me the opportunity to focus on actively fighting issues that I care about and gaining skills and experience in a field different to the degrees I studied.  

It forced me to spend time alone. To actively do things alone and enjoy it. To trust my skills and common sense and not rely on someone else to help me.

It made me want to explore. To learn all the nooks and crannies of the coastline and find every secret swimming spot in the bush.  

It proved to me how difficult a profession I’ve chosen and how hard I’ll have to slog if I want to actually make it. But it also gave me time to reflect on what I really want out of my career, rather than blindly diving straight in.

I did a hell of a lot more self-discovery as a 23-24 year old than I did when I was 19

To be spending my time making coffee while many of my friends have been launching their careers has often made me feel pretty pathetic. There have been times when I’ve looked around at my friends, all with jobs in their respective areas of expertise and felt like a bit a of flunk. But then Monday morning would roll on in and I’d hear the clip-clop of sensible shoes and the front door slam as I was cosied up in bed. I’d listen to complaints about the mental tolls of staring at a computer screen all day and instantly feel better about only having to work a few hours behind a coffee machine, before lazing on the beach all afternoon.  

Taking a gap year after high school is often pitched as a time to find yourself and your place in the world. But I did a hell of a lot more self-discovery as a 23-24 year old than I did when I was 19. Discovery about what I want, what I am capable of, what I value and what I don’t. And there’s still so much to learn. Maybe I’ll just have to give myself another year or two to figure it all out.

(Lead image: Akio Takemoto/Flickr CC)