Going Back to School After a Gap year

When I told a lot of people I was planning on taking a gap year, some people didn’t think i’d actually end up going to school. However, I just finished my first week of college classes and it went pretty well. I took an English class over summer while working full time and ended up getting an A in that class. I actually wrote about my gap year in multiple assignments! After taking some time off from school I feel more motivated to do well in my classes. My last year of high school I had a severe case of senioritis. I absolutely dreaded doing any type of school work. Now, I have a totally different mindset and I really believe taking time off was just what I needed. 

There are a lot of misconceptions about gap years, one of those being that you’ll forget everything you learned in school, which is simply not the case. However, I am going to be honest and say that the first few days were hard for me. I struggled in my math class and found myself putting in extra work. That extra work has payed off though and I ended up getting an A on my first two assignments in the class. I think everyones first few days at college are a struggle, so I didn’t feel like I was on the outs.

I do find myself having a hate/love relationship with online classes. I love the flexibility and the fact that I can complete assignments on my own time. I’m also grateful that I do live in a day and age where I’m able to do online classes in Hawaii. However, I find that I’m teaching myself the curriculum. My professors are there to help along the way, I just might have to wait 24 hours for an email response. I also hate staring at my computer screen for hours on end and sometimes find myself zoning out.

I do think that college is really important and I’m lucky that I am able to further my education. My biggest piece of advice for anyone going back to school after taking time off is to get into a routine and form good study habits. Writing everything down has really helped me, seriously, write down due dates, notes, everything!! Consistency is also key!

Thank you for reading and in case you missed my last post, Your Reminder to Never Give up, be sure to check it out!