Should You Take a Gap Year?

So you find yourself asking, “Should I take a gap year?” Well I was in those shoes once before and I decided to take one despite society telling me I need to go straight to college after high school. Taking a gap year was probably the best decision of my life and i’m so grateful I decided to take a chance and do it. 

Why did I decide to take a gap year?

At the beginning of senior year I went through the whole college application process despite having no clue what I wanted to do and honesty not even really feeling ready for college. One day I was talking to one of my friends and she was telling me about her gap year plan, this sparked something in me and I went home and asked my parents, “What would you think if I took a gap year?” My parents were very supportive which i’m very grateful for. I was about half way through senior year at this point and I decided, this is what I want to do. 

My Plan

I started planning right after I got the okay from my parents. I decided I wanted to do some backpacking around Europe first, then go visit my friend Ampi in Argentina and finish they year off in Hawaii. Then, Covid hit. It through a huge wrench in my gap year plans and I went back and forth on whether or not I should still take the gap year or go to College. Then the whole world shut down.

What actually happened

I ultimately decided to take the gap year. Although I could no longer go to Europe and Argentina, I could still go to Hawaii. Since I was uncertain at times whether I should take the gap year or not I started spending some of the money I had saved up, which I definitely regret. I was originally supposed to leave mid-September, but didn’t actually end up leaving till mid-October because of Covid travel restrictions. I honestly wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to go until a week before. Also, the friend I was originally supposed to go with couldn’t anymore AND the house caretaker at my family friends house who I was supposed to stay at told me I couldn’t stay anymore. I honestly just wanted to call off the trip after that but my dad was not going to let me (thank god). So I asked my friend Val if she wanted to come with me after I found out my other friend couldn’t come and she agreed. Then after finding out we had to get an airbnb we asked Molly to join us, literally 6 days before we were supposed to leave. But she said yes! So we found an airbnb, booked it and packed our suit cases. THEN, the airbnb owners found out we weren’t 21 and told us we couldn’t stay there anymore. Then my dad and I hopped on craigslist and finally found a place, and it wasn’t even that sketchy! Finally we were on the plane flying across the country. We also had to deal with a lot of Covid test and car rental struggles, but then we got to our place, woke up the next morning and we were three very happy girls in Hawaii.

What I Learned 

Nothing goes as planned. Even though things didn’t go as planned I still had an amazing three and a half months in Hawaii. Val came with me to Oahu for a bit and then I was traveling solo. I learned how to put myself out there and made some incredible friends. It was also my first time away from my parents for a long period of time so I learned a lot about being on my own. I learned about Hawaiian culture and geography. I learned a lot about myself as well which I think was the most important thing.

What I wish I knew before

If you plan on traveling during a gap year, things will not be the same when you get home. I came home in January and a lot of my friends were away at college and my friends that did stay home had all there new college friends. I definitely felt very lonely when I got back home. There were so many days where I wished I had never left and I missed all my friends in Hawaii. I also had wished I budgeted my money better, especially since I had to come home because I had no money left. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t change my experience for the world.

What I’m doing now

Since I’ve been home I’ve been working a lot. I realized how much I love to travel and Hawaii in general so I’ve been saving up for it. I’m also enrolled in Summer classes at my community college so all the people that told me, “Oh you’re gonna end up not even going to college!” Well i am! In the fall I plan on continuing to do classes online.

So, Should you take a gap year?

Absolutely. I can confidently say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Although there were some cons that came with taking a gap year, the pros definitely outweighed them. I was inspired to write this because I’ve gotten a few questions about taking a gap year, so if you’re thinking of taking one and have any questions I would be happy to answer! Thank you guys so much for reading!

Thank you for reading! if you want to check out what I was up to during my gap year, check out my Top 10 things you need to do in Oahu blog post.