Gap Year Reflections

As many of you may know, I took a gap year after graduating high school in 2020. Now I am a senior at the University of North Florida getting ready to graduate with a bachelor’s in communication. As my graduation date comes closer, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting. Particularly regarding my gap year and college experience. Taking a gap year truly shifted my mindset and changed the trajectory of my life. In this blog post, I want to share some of my gap year reflections. 

Flying across the country at 18 years old gave me a newfound sense of freedom. I was excited but scared. Not living at my parents’ house and relying on them 24/7 was a big change. I learned how to be independent, which is funny because as a teenager I thought I was independent (I was not). I did a lot of growing up during my gap year. As I learned how to navigate a new place and make new friends I started to gain confidence. I had made my lifelong dream of living in Hawaii come true and I was proud of myself!

While I was planning my gap year, there was a lot of uncertainty with the COVID-19 pandemic. I was highly considering not taking a gap year because of it. However, I am so glad I did. My gap year did not go according to plan, but it was better than I could have ever imagined. The connections I made in Hawaii during my gap year allowed me to live there for several years, something I am so grateful for. The experience taught me to dream big and I learned not to set limitations for myself.

I think the most important thing I learned during my gap year is to not care what others think. I had many people tell me not to take a gap year and I’m so glad I didn’t listen to them. Starting a blog is something I had always wanted to do, but the fear of what others might think always stopped me. My gap year taught me to put myself out there. People will always have an opinion, but if something makes you happy, why should you stop? The funny thing is when I started my blog, I got a ton of positive feedback!

In high school, I did not care for school. However, after taking a year off, I was suddenly super motivated and had a new appreciation for learning. While in college, I’ve worked very hard, and that work has paid off. Now, I plan to start graduate school in the fall! I also became motivated in other aspects of my life and started finding new passions. 

Over the past four years, I have worked seven different jobs. I’ve had to be very flexible and adaptable. These jobs taught me valuable lessons and introduced me to new passions. They also allowed me to travel to Europe and Australia and live in Hawai’i. 

I’ve continued to document my travels and photography on The Aloha Blog. This blog has been such an important passion project in my life and I’m so thankful I started it. It encompasses my personal brand, and I hope that it inspires everyone who reads it. 

It doesn’t matter how old you are, if you’re thinking of taking a gap year, I say do it! It truly changed my perspective on life and taught me so many valuable lessons. Whether it’s a gap year or something else, don’t let the opinions of others stop you from doing something you’re passionate about. You never know what opportunities await if you don’t take that leap of faith.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my gap year reflections and in case you missed my last blog post, you can read it here!