Glenn M Brown III
Special to In Motion
As author J.R.R. Tolkien observed, “Not all who wander are lost.” Each one of us knows firsthand that college is not a walk in the park. It is extremely stressful, time-consuming and emotionally draining. College students work so hard to obtain a degree in certain fields of study, yet as they grow into adults many of them may change how they feel about their future careers.
Courtesy of Vincent Piazza
Historically, this has been called a change in a major, something relatively simple and painless. But what happens when you are too far into your studies to decide to do something else? Shortened graduation deadlines, limited course offerings and a new core curriculum have made such exploration virtually impossible in a college career.
That’s why traveling after college should be the normal route for young adults who want to find themselves, to prove themselves and to truly decide what their purpose in life is. Sure, it’s a loaded question, but really, do any of us know what our true purpose is yet?
While in school, we are pulled in every direction and sometimes can hardly tell left from right. The social life of students is often compromised by the workload of their classes and thus many students tend to lose themselves when they are in school. These days, the only way to truly find peace is to find a place where that you can find yourself. That can be as easy as taking a deep breath and doing some soul searching. Sometimes finding yourself means taking some time off and traveling. This period of travel and exploration is your own gap year, defined as the time between collegiate or secondary school studies and entering the workforce.
The benefit of a gap year is to fully decompress your mind and nurture your soul. Many countries in Europe have made it a requirement to take a gap year after college.
Not only does traveling abroad positively affect the mind, it also has drastic impacts on a person’s emotional and physical wellness, says Ph.D HungChih Yu, writer of the book, “An Examination of the Effects of Participation in a College Study Abroad Program.”
It’s become such a popular concept that some colleges are even paying students who are partially, or completely done with school to take a gap year.
Courtesy of Vincent Piazza
The overall thought is that if a student goes out on their own in the real world and travels, they will learn to become more self-sufficient and accordingly, will not rely on the government for assistance. After a period of soul and self-searching, the post-graduate students return to the workforce refreshed and more motivated.
As a counter argument, it could be said that if a student does not immediately go into the workforce, they may lose the opportunity to find choice occupations. The world of job searching is dog-eat-dog and completely unforgiving. If you do not jump on the opportunity where and when you find it, you may miss it. This miss can be for a long while, sometimes it can be forever.
Let me add a personal account of this.
My girlfriend graduated college in 2008. Shortly after graduation, she sold her car and moved to Australia to live for a year. While she did much soul searching and had many life changing experiences, she returned home with two college degrees and no job.
Planning a gap year could mean not being an intern and in turn, not landing the job you’ve studied so hard to achieve.
So, why should you take some time and travel after college? Because your souls need it, you need to get you back.
For those who think this is a lose-lose situation, that there aren’t many good jobs out there, don’t lose hope. Gap years do not have to be after college, they can be in between. If you find yourself getting burnt out, over-worked, or just plain tired of the monotony,
take some time for yourself.
Yes, it may be true you will be pushing your seemingly never-ending studies back even further from completion, however, you will be enriching your soul and truly finding out what the right path is for you.