The Impact of the Gap Year on Personal Development

I strongly believe that deciding to take what is called a “gap year” after the matric year does not lead to failure in life. The school curriculum is extremely structured and students are therefore restricted and not given that much space to discover their interests. A “gap year” provides a huge chance for a student to explore their interests. The student may even find a job, gain experience, make connections and then end up more successful than they would’ve been had they gone straight to university after school.

Self-discovery is a very important factor as it assists us in identifying our abilities as well as how we can develop and leverage them. When people know what they are passionate about, they grasp concepts and accept them. This is why we find paths we would like to pursue and that would make us happier.

Taking a “gap year” results in better performance. There are many reasons for this but the main reason is that having a year of time off between high school and the university will result in you taking your work/education more seriously. You will also see how the world around you works first-hand and will then understand the value of education

It gives you more time to think. You will have time to think about what your passions are in life really are, and what you would like to go to university for. There are multiple students that don’t know what career they would like to pursue until it is to late and they’ve already paid the university tuition fees. They then have to either stick with the choice that they made or stop, go back to school obtain another university degree. This would result in unnecessary stress and is a disadvantage for the student.

You would be able to build up your resume. When taking a “gap year” you can do many things that would help build up your career. This would make you even more marketable to employers than someone who just has a degree. Things such as volunteer work and sports are thing that most employers will take into consideration when hiring new employees.

You can learn independence which would assist you in being a successful person. Volunteering and working a job will teach you about money management. It will also teach you how to be your own person, as these activities make a person independent. Learning independence will make you successful not only as a university student but throughout your whole life.

You can develop more and new life skills. A skill such as a second language or being able to speak in public can greatly benefit most professionals and give them an edge in their careers. You can become a more well-rounded person. Overall, with the hobbies, life skills, independence, responsibility, work experience and traveling that can be achieved in the “gap year” before university, you will become a well-rounded person. Being well-rounded is something that can create so many positive opportunities in your life and will possibly result in you being more successful than a person that went straight to university after school.

On the contrary, taking a gap year can result in a break in focus when it comes to academia. If you aren’t goal-oriented, you can easily get disorganized when taking a year gap. All factors considered, I maintain my argument that taking a “gap year” between high school and university does in fact not lead to failure in the future.