Gaining More Experience by Taking a Gap Year

Understanding the mind of those who commit a crime and the process of identifying and studying crime, order and criminal justice, delving deep into the causes, social impact and prevention are extremely interesting to me. In the future, I aspire to become a detective or a psychiatrist and want to work towards this goal by having the opportunity to study criminology and criminal psychology. Watching crime documentaries such as 'Amanda Knox', 'Mommy dead and dearest' and 'The Ted Bundy tapes' pushed me to want to know more about the thought process of criminals and how their backgrounds affect their decisions. I also watch News channels such as 'Crime Watch Daily' and 'True Crime Daily' which take an in-depth look into real ongoing cases. I recently watched the Netflix TV series 'Unbelievable' and seeing detectives work hard towards finding the criminal, really fuelled me to want to study criminology. I am interested in studying the psychological factor of crimes, what goes on in an individual's mind whilst committing crimes and which genetic or environmental factors come into play. Through crime documentaries, I have managed to learn and understand certain factors which may compel one individual to commit a crime compared to another individual. For example, an individual with a violent or abusive home life may be more likely to get into domestic disputes.

Studying health and social care, I have come across crimes, such as the cases of 'Baby P' and 'Victoria Climbie'. This opened my eyes to the great responsibilities of roles and the importance of following legislation. Even the slightest mistake can greatly affect another individual's life. For my extended project 5,000 words dissertation, I decided to write about the serial killers phenomena, asking the question 'How does the predisposing and psychological factors in serial killers affect their choices, actions and thoughts?' which will allow me to take rigorous and extensive look into the mind of serial killers and the consequences of certain decisions, actions, and thoughts, Whilst doing my research I managed to identify 4 different types of motives for serial killers; hedonistic, visionary, power and control and mission-orientated.

During my time taking part at Lewisham Youth Theatre, I came to see how they help young people have a place to go and give them a purpose instead of being out in the streets and dealing with or causing trouble, which in turn helps the crime rate in the area and keeps young people safe. I took part in acting skills and fun activities and broadened skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership and to be creative and open-minded.

In secondary school, I took part in open evenings and mornings which allowed me to take leadership and show parents/carers what the school provides and different aspects and areas of the school, which was a very nice experience. I also worked with 'The Hub', which taught me how to support other individuals and mentor younger children, which helped me be more empathetic, compassionate and understanding. I took great pride in helping my mentees manage their school and their personal life. As an individual I love to act, dance and draw. I am a creative individual and love to release my emotions through writing poetry, listening to music and spending time with those who are closest to me. 

I wish to take a gap year to broaden my experience and to gain more clarification and understanding of criminology to prepare myself for my studies in 2021. I will undertake a combination of volunteering and paid employment to help save some money for necessities for university and get my driving license for transport to and from the university. By taking a gap year I will feel more confident and equipped with the right abilities and skills to start studying criminology and criminal psychology and will then be able to contribute to the university with those achieved competencies and experience.