My decision of taking a gap year was completely dependent on receiving the Gap Year Fellowship. I always had a plan for school: get good grades and be successful in high school, get accepted to UNC Chapel Hill, get enough scholarships so my parents wouldn't have to pay, go right to college, then grad school somewhere, then start working. But the older I got the more I realized that in order to get the most out of my high school and college experience, I needed to give a little on the grip I so tightly held on my plan for success.
I never though about taking a gap year. Moreso, it seemed like a very bad decision to make. Most people think that when you don't go to school right away, that you probably won't go back, or that you will lose your momentum and struggle to assimilate back into the academic atmosphere after a year of being so wild and free. At first I agreed with that. I thought why wait? Every senior in high school knows the excitement and anticipation for college. And I didn't want to change so much during that year that I would lose the passion for all the things I thought I wanted up until that point. The more I learned about the gap year experience, from other studetns who had taken one, from the things I could do, the places I could go, the more I began to see an opportunity, rather than an obstacle for my education.
When I got the gap year fellowship application, I was intrigued. I had never even thought about taking a gap year, and thought the idea so out of my comfort zone, that it attracted me at once. So I applied; there wasn't a decision to make if I didn't receive the scholarship in the first place. It would be too expensive, too risky for me. When I brought it up to my parents, they were confused and a little worried. After every conversation about it, they would still ask, but why? I gave up at giving them explanations and merely said, why not? I like adventure, challenge, and accepting opportunities that present themselves. I have learned and experienced very much just from saying yes to opportunities. Such things like, going camping for the first time in my life, attending a korean bible study, and now, taking a gap year.
Now, I am in Italy, a place I thought I would maybe visit in my distant future. I have traveled by myself, left my family (which is a huge deal and maybe the hardest part), worked on an olive farm owned by a German family, learned a little bit of Italian, eaten some of the weirdest and most delicious foods, watched the sun rise in London, and much, much more still to go.
When I return and begin my long awaited Tarheel family, I know I will be a different person, but different for the better. I will have a more global mindset; my world will have expanded and won't just consist of my hometown, friends, and family. I will be ready to take on the challenges of college, knowing that after what I have been through, there will be nothing that I can't try. I will be refreshed and hopefully have a better idea of what I want to do at Carolina.
My favorite parts of my trip have been: looking at the stars with the little light polution, being on the train and seeing mountains on my left and the ocean on my right at the same time, siting at the dinner table and feeling completely left out because I speak neither German nor Italian fluently, stopping for a second each day to realise where I am, looking back to see the scenery and thinking "this is where I live", and missing my parents, my sisters, my friends and family like never before.
Being here, deciding to take a gap year, taking advantage of what the world has to offer me makes me thankful that I have the chance to do something I otherwise wouldn't have done. I also have some financial freedom while also learning to manage and budget it accordingly.
Sometimes I think, I should be somewhere on Carolina's campus right now; walking to class, talking with friends, but instead I will graduate a year later than I planned. It makes me appreciate that no matter what you think you have planned, God has something in store for all of us.
