I attended a Gap Year Fair last night which is basically loads of companies trying to sell you their perfect idea of what you should do during a gap year.
There was even an old Etonian who said he offered the best advice on what one should be doing during their gap year. He mentioned that lying on a beach and learning to surf is a waste of time but he would perhaps (I quote) ‘let a student do that for a week’.
Let them do it!!! I say go on a gap year it will be one of the greatest things you will ever do however a gap year is for you and you only. You shouldn’t work a gap year around what you want to do at university or what looks good on your CV you should go and do exactly what you want to.
I spent time out travelling after college and did exactly that, personally I would saying lying on a beach and not knowing what I was doing from one day to the next was one of the most liberating moments of my life. It certainly wasn’t time being wasted and was total freedom, a feeling that you rarely experience.
So if you doing a gap year don’t listen to the companies selling you the dream and making you feel you should do something worthwhile. By all means go and do these things but only if you want too!
Be like me see the world, be a bum, chill out and enjoy and always remember travelling the world is the greatest lesson you will ever attend.
