Describe your gap year experience. I started out my gap year by sailing across the Atlantic Ocean with a program called Sea|Mester. We started in Nice, France and then spent the next month and a half sailing around the Mediterranean Sea. We would usually spend a few days sailing and then a few days exploring various towns in France, Italy and Spain. There were also marine biology and oceanography classes and dive lessons sprinkled throughout the day. The next month and a half was similar, only we sailed down to Morocco and then crossed the Atlantic and finished the trip with two weeks in the Caribbean, diving, hiking and exploring.

 

After that program, I spent a month at home with my family and friends during winter break. Then I flew to New Zealand in time for its summer with a program called Pacific Discovery. I spent 5 weeks travelling about and seeing the sights and culture. We would be canoeing one week, backpacking the next and then spending a few days working with the Department of Conservation to manage invasive species. I’ve spent the past two weeks exploring Australia with the same program. We’ve done some conservation work with the Queensland Education Center, gone snorkeling and scuba diving. These past few days, we have been learning how to surf in Crescent Head, Australia.

 

Why did you decide to take a gap year? It was honestly more of a ‘why not’ than a ‘why.’ I really wanted to travel and learn how to sail and scuba dive and surf and rock climb, and this seemed like the best time to do those things.

Would you do it again, knowing what you know now? Absolutely. I can’t even begin to put into words how much I enjoyed this year and how much I’ve learned and grown. Life is too short to put our dreams on the back burner and to pass on opportunities when we have them. For some people, going to college was their dream, but for me taking a gap year was the perfect time for me do so many things that I never would have done otherwise. I also have such a better appreciation for different cultures.

 

How do you think your gap year has prepared you to start college next year? What’s changed about you? I think somewhere in this past year, I found the confidence to be myself. It’s hard to say definitively what’s changed about me, but living a year doing the things I never thought I’d be able to do, each and every day, has been an unforgettable experience. I have grown so much, if in nothing else than my understanding of the world. I’ve met a whole bunch of incredible people and made some truly awesome friends. I also have a clearer view of what I want to do in the future, and I better know what matters to me.