It's mid May now and in just a few days my final gap year adventure in the USA will be kicking off. Now by the time I arrive back in blighty afterwards, I will have a whole 3 days worth of shopping, packing and panicking before heading off to Southampton to start University. Basically, I'm not going to have much time once my gap year actually ends and I would like to do a series of blogposts similar to my Review of 2013 to reflect on what I've done this past year. So to give me one less thing to do in September, I've decided to start slightly early.
Here's the first installment of my Gap Year Review series.
In the months prior to starting my gap year, I didn't really know how to approach it. I felt a bit clueless, didn't really know anyone who'd taken one and was far too swamped in exam revision to pay it much attention. I wish there was someone around at that time who could've given me some decent advice. So the focus of this first post in my Gap Year review is to pass on a few things I've learnt going through the process of taking a year out. A few things I would've liked to know prior to starting. If you're thinking of taking a gap year yourself then I suggest you give this a read-not that I'm big headed or anything!
1. Have a plan
Taking a gap year is a great concept. A whole 12 months to do what you want and go where you want to go. The possibility are endless which I actually found quite daunting and at first, I had no real idea what I really wanted to do. Whether you want to go backpacking around Australia or volunteer in Africa , the sooner you have a plan, the sooner you can start putting it into action. If you're indecisive like me, the best thing to do is to set some goals and criteria for what you'd like to get out of your gap year. To show what I mean, here's what my gap year goals were: 1. ALWAYS travel to new places 2. Spend as few days at home as possible 3. As a French and Spanish student, I needed to travel to/work/live in at least one Hispanic or Francophone in order to maintain my level of proficiency in these languages ahead of Uni.
2. Save up
It goes without saying that gap years are expensive. If they weren't then I'm sure nearly everyone would have a year out before heading off to Uni. Many of the amazing projects and trips advertised online charge high fees in exchange for an unforgettable experience and the bank of Mum and Dad can only stretch so far. Start saving your money up as soon as you can and only spend money on essential things. Gear your finances towards your gap year plan, whatever it may be
3. Get a job
To help with point 2, the best way of sprucing up your savings is through a good bit of hard earned income. There's two different approaches to this. A) you can get a job before you go travelling. Or B) you can work while you travel. I chose the latter option and it's one I've stuck to throughout my gap year. Working abroad during your gap year has many benefits. It allows you to stay in one place for an extended period, letting you learn a lot about a new place, country or culture and if you can get food and accommodation thrown in as part of the deal then even better! Whatever your skill set, there are lots of kinds of employment prospects abroad available over the internet and all you have to do is pick one that suits and pursue it like hell.
4. Stay fit
When you're abroad, it's very easy to indulge in the finer things in life. Over time, all the foreign cuisine, drink and party lifestyle you've been enjoying for so long does eventually catch up on you so it's a good idea (if you want to maintain your figure) to keep active. You could join a local sports team or exercise group-also providing you with a great opportunity to meet locals or fellow travellers, take a walking or bike tour or just do your own thing be it a run, cycle or swim. Staying fit while you travel can be difficult as there are so many distractions but if you do a bit while you're away then it means that you've got less catching up to do when you get back home.
5. Step out of your comfort zone
Taking a gap year really encourages you to step up and take on many difficult situations. At times things might be overwhelming but I say embrace the chaos. As my former History teacher Mike Wilson told me before departing on my year out, it is in these tricky situations that we really learn the most about ourselves and develop as a person. Rise to the challenge and you'll feel better for it.
6. Be a YES man/lady
This is similar to the last point. During your gap year, you will be presented with a billion different opportunities and new experiences to try out and as long as they're not too life threatening then I suggest you take all of them. Even if the outcome isn't always positive, you will still have had that experience and maybe even a great story to go with it. As the old saying goes 'don't knock it till you try it'
7. Stay in touch with your school/college friends
One thing just about everyone and every website will tell you about your gap year is that you'll make 'loads of friends'. Now unless you're travelling as part of a group of fellow gappers, it is very difficult to stay friends with the people you meet on your travels as just about everyone is working/studying or travelling off somewhere else. A gap year can certainly be very lonely at times and I must say this has affected me on more than one occasion over these past months. Because of this, I have found it to be very important to stay in contact with friends from back home via Facebook or Skype or even to meet up in the flesh just so you have a familiar face to talk to when times are tough, have a laugh and to chat about their life at work/school/ university. Good quality time with friends and family is often underestimated and you should always make time for it even when you're many hundreds and thousands of miles from home.
8. Walk it
If you end up taking a similar gap year to mine, visiting lots of different cities and tourist attractions, it can become quite costly to use local public transport or getting a taxi. If your destination is nearby, I strongly suggest you walk it. The benefits are huge! Not only are you staying fit (see point 4) but you also get to see more of the city/place you are in and therefore see many of the unique things such as shops, eateries, parks and architecture that many lazier tourists will miss out on. More importantly, you get a much better idea of what the place is really like rather than through the artificial tinted lenses of a tourist.
9. Record it
Taking a gap year is an amazing experience that you will want to look back on and remember for years in the future. It's all well and good having those memories stored in your head but as we do get older we do become more forgetful so it is worth creating some more physical evidence to help our brains out. Go Asian tourist mode and take LOADS of pictures of everyone and everything (I strongly urge you to take a camera/photo capturing device everywhere you go, you never know what you're going to see or experience and there have been countless times this year where I wished I had my camera handy to capture the moment), take short videos, create a playlist of your favourite songs from your travels, write facebook statuses when key events happen, get in touch with your creative side by making a scrapbook or collage, even write your very own blog or travel diary like I've done.
10. Enjoy it
Last but not least, a no brainer. Enjoy it. Once your return back to reality, you're not likely to have this much freedom ever again so make the most of it and take every opportunity that comes your way.
To those of you taking a gap year this September or sometime in the future- I really hope you have a great time.
I hope this post was helpful and insightful and not too cheesy for you. Expect Gap Year Review Part 2 sometime in September when I return from America.
Stay classy, World!
FP
#FraserOnTour
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