It’s funny how even simple concepts evolve to have different practical applications, depending on which part of the world you’re in. Take the idea of a gap year, for instance. The term originated in the U.K. in the 1960s, and it has basically always meant to go on a relatively unstructured overseas trip after high school. You might work (in a bar or a restaurant or a youth hostel), but just enough to earn the dough required to get to the next town or country.
In the traditional sense of the term “gap year,” it’s not what you do that’s important, it’s the overall life experience that matters. Meeting people from different cultures. Trying new things. Soaking it all up. Because let’s face it, when you’re 18, you’re either staring at a two- to four-year study program, or you’re starting a job, part-time or full-time. Either way, you’re about to become somebody else’s bitch.
A gap year is about not being anybody’s bitch.
(Like I said, you may work, but do you care about that job? No. Do you care if you get fired from that job? No. Do you sleep with your boss? Maybe. That’s just the way it goes.)
Sounds great, doesn’t it? So then why, oh why, do some countries insist on smushing that notion of a gap year right between their thumb and forefinger?
In Japan, the practice of matching students with jobs before graduation cuts the gap year off at its knees. (This would explain why it is that when you actually encounter Japanese travelers, they are usually chain smoking and prematurely grey.) The United States–the only advanced economy in the world that doesn’t guarantee its workers paid vacation, it’s worth noting– has turned a gap year into something of a higher pursuit. This quote comes from Wikipedia:
“During this gap year, American students engage in advanced academic courses, extra-academic courses and non-academic courses, such as yearlong pre-college math courses, language studies, learning a trade, art studies, volunteer work, travel, internships, sports and more, all for the purpose of improving themselves in knowledge, maturity, decision-making, leadership, independence, self-sufficiency and more, thus improving their resumes before going to college.”
Hold on, does that say “yearlong pre-college math courses?” And “improving themselves?” What blasphemy! It’s the same mentality that has one-year-olds on waiting lists for the “right” kindergarten. How about just going overseas to open your eyes, your mind and your soul, whilst leaving the hidden agenda at home, okay, campers?
Here’s the thing. The post-high school gap year is an opportunity like no other to be a free individual. You don’t have to worry about repaying student loans. You don’t have to worry about serious relationships. You don’t have to worry about having identified the perfect career. You’re still a kid. Go out and play, for God’s sake. (And use a condom.) All that other stuff will be waiting for you when you get home. What’s more, you will have had an education of the most deliciously insidious kind, one that really teaches you to assess and question, and that will stick with you for a lifetime. Can you say that about a pre-college math course?
Parents, I know you’re probably thinking that you can’t imagine sending your freshly graduated son or daughter out into the world in an “unstructured” way. It’s too dangerous, and they’re not ready for it, and they might get robbed (yup, they might). But if you’ve got a cherub-cheeked 18-year-old who still forgets to lock the back door when they go out and who has never grocery shopped or managed a budget, then IT’S EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THEY GO. Let them go, and cry on the ride home from the airport.
Inarguably, the year that most shaped the rest of my life was my gap year, when I traveled to Israel with a school friend. We lived and “worked” on a kibbutz. I was 18. I packed all wrong. I had nothing wise to contribute to conversations with my peers. I didn’t speak or read Hebrew. I suntanned with baby oil. Nobody (wrongly) worried about AIDS. I hitchhiked. The intifada started that year.
I also heard firsthand stories of apartheid from my peers. I learned to take care of babies. I picked up some Hebrew, and a handful of Swedish swear words. I discovered I like schnitzel. I floated in an inner tube down the Jordan River. I grew to know the streets of Old Jerusalem like the back of my hand. I met a woman who taught me about unconditional love.
In 2006, Lonely Planet ran what I think was a brilliant ad campaign. The slogan said “Do Something Great For Your Country. Leave.” On a gap year, you don’t have to know where you’re going to end up, or how you’re going to get there. You don’t need to be a master grocery shopper (hint: keep to the outer edges of the store). And you definitely shouldn’t have to be anybody’s bitch.
Your turn. Did you take a gap year? Do you wish you did? Do you have kids who are? Love it when you guys chime in.
Jagoda Perich-Anderson, M.A. says
I so wish I’d had a gap year. When I graduated HS this was not even on my radar (or anyone’s whom I knew back then). However, my niece did this, traveling through Europe with her best friend from HS. Sure we were worried about their safety but it turned to be one of the best things she did. Today (after finishing college first), she works in the Hague for a multi-national company because she wants to be centrally located for easy travel. She’s been to almost every continent by now. I’m a little jealous of her and immensely proud.
What do you think about a gap year for adults?
Laura Zera says
It must have taken a while for the idea to trickle over from the UK to North America. And wow, your niece has done it up right. I’m a little jealous of her, too! The Hague is a superb jump-off point, and kudos to her for making all of that happen.
I totally love the idea of a gap year for adults. The philosophy is sort of in keeping with Tim Ferriss’s call for everyone to scrap the notion of a “deferred retirement” and to take mini-retirements all throughout your life. I’ve quit some of my adult jobs to do extended travel, have zero regrets and lots of memories. So maybe you’re due for a gap year, hey, Jagoda? It’s never too late!
Kathy @ SMART Living 365.com says
Hi Laura! I think this is an AWESOME idea and did my own sort of version in my own way. After I graduated I took a three month driving vacation through the United States by myself visiting friends and family. That alone was pretty brave way back then. When I returned I went to junior college for the next three years (yeah, it took me a while because I kept changing my major) but every summer I took off and traveled by myself. I considered it fairly tame but I WANTED to get away from my family and experience something knew. LIke you said, that’s a GREAT way to grow up and discover what you do and DON”T want! Thanks for the good memories! ~Kathy
Laura Zera says
“A Gap Year in Four Acts” or something like that, right? That’s so great that you used your college summers, too. And that you did it alone. Like you said, you really got to know yourself. What a great jumpstart!
Jeri says
I’ve always been one to do things a bit differently… It took me 2.5 years to get my associate’s degree, and then my gap year happened. It was more than a year long, more like 1.5 years give or take before I decided to go back to Idaho and get my bachelor’s. I’d already been working in Yellowstone during the summers anyway, so it was a natural move to decide to do a couple of winter seasons in the Everglades. Best times of my life by far. Life was simple, the job sucked, but I knew I was experiencing life 🙂
Laura Zera says
Different is good! It sounds like it didn’t matter a lick what the job was — you could have been picking stones out of park paths, or something equally tedious — because you were in places you loved, seeing amazing things and creating those memorable experiences.
Jodi from Heal Now and Forever says
I wouldn’t be who I am today without having traveled like I did. I wish I went longer when I was younger. I stayed back for love when I dreamed about my gap year forever. I’ve made smaller trips, I’ve made them happen. But if I had to do it again, I would do a gap year for sure. I want my kids to have that experience. 🙂
Laura Zera says
I love that your early travel shaped you. I really think there’s nothing like it to make our young eyes open so much wider. So glad you made it happen. And I’m excited for your kids! May they have trips of a lifetime!
Andrea Mitchell says
This is awesome Laura! I didn’t take a gap year but I did take Gap months and travelled to Europe twice with a friend. It was the best and most important time of my life. I learned about who I was and who I wanted to be. It made me strive for more in my life and not settle for second best.
Some of the things that I did scare the *&*% heck out of me now and the thought of my kids doing these things makes me really want to shelter them. Ultimately you learn how to take care of yourself!!!
I will cry my head off when I drop my kids off at the airport, both because I am worried but mostly that I can’t go with them….***xo
Laura Zera says
Thanks, Andrea! So nice to see you here! And you’re another person who said “most important time of my life.” There’s definitely a pattern developing.
You also raise a good point. Some of the choices made on the road are not the best ones, and as adults (and parents), we may even look back on them and question our moments of youthful stupidity. Rest assured that your kids won’t make the same risky choices; they’ll make different risky choices. The opportunities are there whether at home or abroad, though. The words “David Gray Park” come to mind. (Remember that place?) Stupid things done, nothing learned. But that hash buy that I accidentally ended up on in the dark side streets of Cairo? Lots learned.
Glad that you’ll be encouraging your kids to see the world, and oh, the stories they’ll come home with! You may not hear all of them until you’re 80, of course.
Heather Pierce says
Enjoyed your point of view on this and agree. I never had the opportunity to have a gap year when I was young, so… when my girls were grown up enough, I left my job and home for 6 weeks. I traveled alone in mainland China with my 2 words of Chinese and knowing what the symbol for women’s bathroom was. I had to prove to myself that despite all the intervening years, I was still an adventurous woman. I was terrified twice during that journey, but, you know what, I pulled on my big girl pants and made it through. The joy of those 6 weeks has never left me and has caused me to go to 90+ other countries since. My point: It is never too late to take a gap year or 6 weeks!
Laura Zera says
Yay! Love it, Heather. Never, ever, ever too late. That’s a great story. Thank you for stopping by! And wow, you’re up to 90+ countries — that’s truly amazing. Keep on keepin’ on. 🙂
Denise Baer says
Love this article. I never had a gap year. I guess you can say, I’m kinda having my gap year now, or a few gap years. I was born and raised in Chicago but I live in Germany now. It’s been exciting to watch the culture, shop, and attempt to learn the language. I think the idea of a “gap year” is a wonderful thing for the teenager and parent. The U.S. puts so much emphasis on sports that there’s nothing left for the child to experience. They forget to live.
To see how another culture talks, lives, traditions, eats is one of the best learning experience any individual from any culture could want. In a sense, it makes you appreciate the things you have, and makes you realize the many things you really don’t need.
Laura Zera says
I like your sentiments on this, Denise. Thanks for sharing them. I think that it especially applies to North Americans, who have become so consumption-focused. For example, it was eye opening for me to see families of four and five live as life-long renters in modest apartments all throughout Europe, and for that to be the norm. It has a whole different set of benefits, and turns the notion of the “American Dream” on its head.
That’s very cool that you’re able to take your gap years now in Germany! And what a great jump-off point for seeing all that’s around you. A few minutes on a train and you’re in another country.
Kern Windwraith says
The idea of going straight from high school to university is bonkers. How on earth is a person supposed to figure out what they want to be if they don’t know who they are? Love that Lonely Planet quotation!
Laura Zera says
I think “bonkers” is exactly the most perfect word for it, Kern!