Many countries promote some version of a gap year, encouraging youth to spend a year abroad before making major life decisions. Why hasn’t this caught on as much in the United States?
I wasn't able to take a gap year, but I did finish my senior year of high school in Australia. But that experience did prompt me to immediately move overseas after getting my college degree and pursuing the life that I actually wanted.
In my opinion, the gap year is not only valid for youngsters. At any point in life, you should be able to give yourself a break before embarking on a new, perhaps "more" fulfilling cycle. It is true that here in Europe, it is normal to hear that someone is on a "sabbatical leave." Many large companies even have a policy for such a break year, which is encouraging. The USA has lots to learn from the old continent.
Totally agreed! I followed up with an addendum post making a similar case in 'Wandering and Mindfulness: On the Right to Slow Down.'
In that piece I argued, "gap years don’t necessarily need to be exclusive to youth. Many of us experience burnout and want— no, deserve— to seek greater meaning and purpose at many stages of our lives. Life is hard and we all eventually reach moments of major transition at various phases of our lives—whether we’re about to have children, find ourselves between jobs, have recently gone through a divorce, or have sadly suffered the loss of a loved one. These are times of great stress and change—if only we had a Monopoly-like “get out of jail free card”, or a “get out of town card”, these are the moments we’d be using that card."
I've had a few friends who've lived in Europe and Australia and have found myself envious of some of the benefits for time off they enjoy. I hope the trends continue with that in the US. Thanks for engaging and sharing your thoughts Fernanda!
I do agree that some time out of school would be a good thing.
I'd say, though, that a general attitude of introducing the beneficial elements of that gap year gradually over the course of the child's entire schooling time may work better; costwise and learning wise.
Like you say, your family background and culture, like things that your grandparents did had an influence on how you saw the world and travel.
For instance, gradually giving a child longer and longer periods of holiday time that they have to fill up independent of their parents.
Or releasing them from more and more of the structured obligations that are a part of the family routine.
These are great points Susanna! And timely. I've got another piece coming out tomorrow that is kind of an addendum to this piece on how we can all be better at slowing down at many instances of our lives by introducing small acts of wandering and mindfulness into daily routines.
I agree on the longer time off for kids. I think one thing that many schools and institutions of higher education could do is offer students options for time off from study and incentivize traveling whether that comes at the beginning, middle, or end of one's program.
Curating time off for everyone's individual needs is challenging and something that I think will take a long time for our society to change but is an important and underappreciated upgrade our society needs.
Growing up in Australia it was part of my friendship group that we all took off for a year or so. There was never any real discussion about it, just expected.
From my group it was mostly Britain and Europe we headed to. For many of us it was our first real experiences with the wider world, first share housing, first casual jobs, first girl or boyfriend.
There was plenty of ups and downs along the way, dodgy jobs, broken hearts, drunken nights and money hassles.
But I wouldn't have changed a thing.
For my part this formative experience was instrumental in my growing to be a mature adult, seeing different cultures, meeting people from all walks of life, tasting all the delicious cuisines, these all combine to help a person grow.
Two of my three children have done the same trip now, with my blessing, one coming back with a new partner, now his wife.
That is a fantastic account! Really enjoyed hearing this. Makes me curious how often people in Australia take this opportunity and if it's more localized to people living in or around cities or is widespread across the country? I've only known one other person from Australia personally and they too seemed very well-traveled at an early age.
I hope this is something that can change in the U.S. too where it becomes such a norm that it is expected or at the very least encouraged and for kids to know that it is an option.
Just to illustrate the stark contrast, growing up it never even occurred to me or anyone in my friend group that taking a gap year was even an option for us. Some argue that it's because people grow up poor that they can't take that kind of time off. While I think that is a serious constraint for a lot, just having someone tell you that you can whether that is a parent or friend and how to go about it is huge. I was already working at 15, so in theory could have pooled some money together and worked toward it (maybe not an entire year) but at least several months of travel.
We'll be making sure our son is aware he can do that and has some money to travel if he wants to. Thanks for reading, sharing, and engaging!
Hi Justin, regarding the ability to have a gap year when you're not from an affluent background, I was certainly not from a wealthy family and for my year away it was just assumed that I'd be working. Stints in the pub, a factory, as a builders labourer and moving furniture.
These were all in London and while none of these were ever going to be a career they filled in the gaps between trips to Europe and the rest of Britain.
I have a neice who's just recently finished a work stint in Queenstown, New Zealand, something to do with the ski fields, she then went on to Switzerland for some time in another resort and is now in Manchester working in a pub.
She'll be back in a year or so and much the better person for it.
We have the reverse thing happening in Australia as well, we've got a shortage of workers and the government has a scheme where the foreign kids can get a long stay visa if they undertake a three month work period.
I think that they get a two year visa after their three month period.
I recently met an Irish girl and a Swedish guy working in an oyster farm in the nearby town of Coffin Bay.
I also regularly chat with young French kids working in a local cake shop, they are taking part.
Mind you, to circle back to your original post, I don't think I've met with any kids from the U.S on this scheme. Maybe because the U.S is closer to Europe they head there. Cheers, Ross
I did a gap semester and still switched my major once. I should have done it twice. I actually think that switching your major may be a good sign. Understanding your early 20s as a process of self discovery, then realizing that it continues throughout adulthood, could help alleviate anxiety. I often think about how much we learn about our needs by simply doing. I’m not sure when college should fall in that equation. I believe that everyone should work full-time a few years before considering grad school.
Unfortunately, a gap year isn't a realistic possibility for poor students. I think an overarching goal for all students is to broaden their range of experiences. The specifics can be different for each student. Possibilities include a gap year after high school, Americorps service, work supplemented with a disparate mix of community College classes, military service (maybe), specific employer programs (Disney, cruise lines), internships, study abroad programs, a gap year after college, etc. A key element is to convince these uncertain individuals to avoid being forced on to a certain path by life changing circumstances such as pregnancy. During my youth, my world was broadened by travel and a couple of summers working for Manpower in short term assignments at various employers.
I'm hoping that is changing some especially given the astronomical rising costs of education. I read that several universities are now baking a gap year into their programs and encouraging more students to take a gap year but not fully aware of all the details. I think that might be one way to do it if schools can leverage the funds to support their students and their financial and psychological situations. While I think having an initial gap year before beginning college might alleviate the uncertainty problem, I do think it should be flexible where students say half way through their program can take a gap year (or just a half year) off to travel to prevent burnout or even tack in on to the end of their program as a way to reward themselves and take a break before entering the workforce or military.
I would have loved a gap year! I didn't start travelling (internationally) until I was in my 20's in the workforce (having money helped!) but my parents did start to inspire some wanderlust with two very cool trips they took me on, park city (dad) and montana (mom) in college. I love the story about the flight attendant aunt.
I am in the same boat. Would have loved to have had one after high school, but fortunately got to have a half-year off after my undergraduate studies to hike the Appalachian Trail. I loved visiting Park City (all of Utah is fantastic too). Spent a lot of time in Montana too and enjoyed my time there as well. Thanks for reading, engaging, and sharing Kristen!
I wasn't able to take a gap year, but I did finish my senior year of high school in Australia. But that experience did prompt me to immediately move overseas after getting my college degree and pursuing the life that I actually wanted.
In my opinion, the gap year is not only valid for youngsters. At any point in life, you should be able to give yourself a break before embarking on a new, perhaps "more" fulfilling cycle. It is true that here in Europe, it is normal to hear that someone is on a "sabbatical leave." Many large companies even have a policy for such a break year, which is encouraging. The USA has lots to learn from the old continent.
Totally agreed! I followed up with an addendum post making a similar case in 'Wandering and Mindfulness: On the Right to Slow Down.'
In that piece I argued, "gap years don’t necessarily need to be exclusive to youth. Many of us experience burnout and want— no, deserve— to seek greater meaning and purpose at many stages of our lives. Life is hard and we all eventually reach moments of major transition at various phases of our lives—whether we’re about to have children, find ourselves between jobs, have recently gone through a divorce, or have sadly suffered the loss of a loved one. These are times of great stress and change—if only we had a Monopoly-like “get out of jail free card”, or a “get out of town card”, these are the moments we’d be using that card."
I've had a few friends who've lived in Europe and Australia and have found myself envious of some of the benefits for time off they enjoy. I hope the trends continue with that in the US. Thanks for engaging and sharing your thoughts Fernanda!
https://thosewhowander.substack.com/p/wandering-and-mindfulness-on-the
I do agree that some time out of school would be a good thing.
I'd say, though, that a general attitude of introducing the beneficial elements of that gap year gradually over the course of the child's entire schooling time may work better; costwise and learning wise.
Like you say, your family background and culture, like things that your grandparents did had an influence on how you saw the world and travel.
For instance, gradually giving a child longer and longer periods of holiday time that they have to fill up independent of their parents.
Or releasing them from more and more of the structured obligations that are a part of the family routine.
These are great points Susanna! And timely. I've got another piece coming out tomorrow that is kind of an addendum to this piece on how we can all be better at slowing down at many instances of our lives by introducing small acts of wandering and mindfulness into daily routines.
I agree on the longer time off for kids. I think one thing that many schools and institutions of higher education could do is offer students options for time off from study and incentivize traveling whether that comes at the beginning, middle, or end of one's program.
Curating time off for everyone's individual needs is challenging and something that I think will take a long time for our society to change but is an important and underappreciated upgrade our society needs.
Thank you for reading and engaging! Cheers!
Growing up in Australia it was part of my friendship group that we all took off for a year or so. There was never any real discussion about it, just expected.
From my group it was mostly Britain and Europe we headed to. For many of us it was our first real experiences with the wider world, first share housing, first casual jobs, first girl or boyfriend.
There was plenty of ups and downs along the way, dodgy jobs, broken hearts, drunken nights and money hassles.
But I wouldn't have changed a thing.
For my part this formative experience was instrumental in my growing to be a mature adult, seeing different cultures, meeting people from all walks of life, tasting all the delicious cuisines, these all combine to help a person grow.
Two of my three children have done the same trip now, with my blessing, one coming back with a new partner, now his wife.
That is a fantastic account! Really enjoyed hearing this. Makes me curious how often people in Australia take this opportunity and if it's more localized to people living in or around cities or is widespread across the country? I've only known one other person from Australia personally and they too seemed very well-traveled at an early age.
I hope this is something that can change in the U.S. too where it becomes such a norm that it is expected or at the very least encouraged and for kids to know that it is an option.
Just to illustrate the stark contrast, growing up it never even occurred to me or anyone in my friend group that taking a gap year was even an option for us. Some argue that it's because people grow up poor that they can't take that kind of time off. While I think that is a serious constraint for a lot, just having someone tell you that you can whether that is a parent or friend and how to go about it is huge. I was already working at 15, so in theory could have pooled some money together and worked toward it (maybe not an entire year) but at least several months of travel.
We'll be making sure our son is aware he can do that and has some money to travel if he wants to. Thanks for reading, sharing, and engaging!
Hi Justin, regarding the ability to have a gap year when you're not from an affluent background, I was certainly not from a wealthy family and for my year away it was just assumed that I'd be working. Stints in the pub, a factory, as a builders labourer and moving furniture.
These were all in London and while none of these were ever going to be a career they filled in the gaps between trips to Europe and the rest of Britain.
I have a neice who's just recently finished a work stint in Queenstown, New Zealand, something to do with the ski fields, she then went on to Switzerland for some time in another resort and is now in Manchester working in a pub.
She'll be back in a year or so and much the better person for it.
We have the reverse thing happening in Australia as well, we've got a shortage of workers and the government has a scheme where the foreign kids can get a long stay visa if they undertake a three month work period.
I think that they get a two year visa after their three month period.
I recently met an Irish girl and a Swedish guy working in an oyster farm in the nearby town of Coffin Bay.
I also regularly chat with young French kids working in a local cake shop, they are taking part.
Mind you, to circle back to your original post, I don't think I've met with any kids from the U.S on this scheme. Maybe because the U.S is closer to Europe they head there. Cheers, Ross
I did a gap semester and still switched my major once. I should have done it twice. I actually think that switching your major may be a good sign. Understanding your early 20s as a process of self discovery, then realizing that it continues throughout adulthood, could help alleviate anxiety. I often think about how much we learn about our needs by simply doing. I’m not sure when college should fall in that equation. I believe that everyone should work full-time a few years before considering grad school.
Unfortunately, a gap year isn't a realistic possibility for poor students. I think an overarching goal for all students is to broaden their range of experiences. The specifics can be different for each student. Possibilities include a gap year after high school, Americorps service, work supplemented with a disparate mix of community College classes, military service (maybe), specific employer programs (Disney, cruise lines), internships, study abroad programs, a gap year after college, etc. A key element is to convince these uncertain individuals to avoid being forced on to a certain path by life changing circumstances such as pregnancy. During my youth, my world was broadened by travel and a couple of summers working for Manpower in short term assignments at various employers.
I'm hoping that is changing some especially given the astronomical rising costs of education. I read that several universities are now baking a gap year into their programs and encouraging more students to take a gap year but not fully aware of all the details. I think that might be one way to do it if schools can leverage the funds to support their students and their financial and psychological situations. While I think having an initial gap year before beginning college might alleviate the uncertainty problem, I do think it should be flexible where students say half way through their program can take a gap year (or just a half year) off to travel to prevent burnout or even tack in on to the end of their program as a way to reward themselves and take a break before entering the workforce or military.
I would have loved a gap year! I didn't start travelling (internationally) until I was in my 20's in the workforce (having money helped!) but my parents did start to inspire some wanderlust with two very cool trips they took me on, park city (dad) and montana (mom) in college. I love the story about the flight attendant aunt.
I am in the same boat. Would have loved to have had one after high school, but fortunately got to have a half-year off after my undergraduate studies to hike the Appalachian Trail. I loved visiting Park City (all of Utah is fantastic too). Spent a lot of time in Montana too and enjoyed my time there as well. Thanks for reading, engaging, and sharing Kristen!