Fill the GAP with a Skills Gap Year
We must rather go with the choice that scares us the most because it is this choice that will help us grow.
Many young people are entering the grown-up world with no clue as to who they are, and how the world works, and much less as to what they want to do with their lives. These uncertainties along with increasing poverty and unemployment rates lead the majority of young people to steer away from the road less traveled.
So, what exactly does this road entail, why do people avoid it and what are the rewards of this seemingly higher-risk road?
The societal value of attending a full-time University exceeds the value of knowing who you are and what you want to do with your life by far. Due to this fact, many teenagers give in to this pressure and start to study at University, not because they want to but because they feel they have to, to garner the approval of others.
People feel they will be judged (and they will most probably) so, they plan their lives according to others’ opinions instead of their own passions and doing something that might make them happy.
One of the reasons a year of self-development is so important and beneficial is because one starts to live and learn for oneself. This year you get to learn about yourself and you get to change and become who you truly are. Taking time to grow and to figure out what you want to do in life does not mean that you are wasting time or being lazy; what it does mean is that you are courageous enough to take the road others both long and fear to take.
Now, with an open mind and eyes, you get to determine your future and your happiness. All it takes is some courage and a decision to start and to keep on learning.
So, choose the option that scares you most and live your life according to yourself. Be brave enough to take that leap of faith in yourself and suddenly, the world will look less scary and rather like an adventure.
Just Africa Life Skills Gap Year
Anri Cloete
Gap Year student