Once In a lifetime Escape

By: Antonia Monedero, 11º

Are you tired of constantly studying and worrying about grades? Are you exhausted of tests and anxious with college applications? If you are like me, you are done with constantly battling to be motivated for doing schoolwork and would give anything for an extra long summer vacation! It's extremely common, after 14 years of intensive studying, high school kids tend to feel desperate for a long break.

Think about it. Who wouldn't want to spend a year relaxing and having a blast learning something new, without any kind of stress. For that simple reason, gap years have started to get more common among students globally to the point where based on Info Please in their section about “The Gap Year” 11% of students take some sort of gap years before enrolling to college in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

This fabulous trend is not only for the elites or rich people. Of course, individuals need to have savings and some type of income they can rely on, but taking a gap year isn't exclusive for Malia Obama and the rest of the rich kids around the globe. Middle-class teens and even teens with lower incomes are beginning to travel through Europe to explore new cultures, learn new languages, adventure, practice their religion, and even get some new job experiences. Those activities, not only are fun, but also teach teens various life lessons. Teens learn how to take care of themselves, which leads to them becoming more responsible. For instance, Gap Year Data states how, “Gap year students are perceived to be 'more mature, more self-reliant and independent' than non-gap year students. [Birch, "The Characteristics of Gap-Year Students and Their Tertiary Academic Outcomes", Australia, 2007]. When entering college afterwards, they tend to do a lot better because of the skills gathered throughout the year.

Lastly, the better aspect about gap years are the locations. It's up to you where you want to go, or if you want to travel the whole year. Africa, Australia, and even Asia have magnificent opportunities waiting for you. Programs like EF can help you choose what fits for you best so that you can make the most out of your experience. Where you go doesn't matter. What does matter, is that it’s a once in a lifetime experience! Gap years are the best way to make learning, fun and different from what you're used to, so it's up to you how you make it, and what you choose to do in the period of time you have.