Great article written by a girl who took a gap year

[readwithem]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/jobs/15pre.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=gap+year&st=nyt&oref=slogin

 

You can "hear" her grow up as she writes - what a different person she was after that year.

[Begonia]

Thank you for posting this inspirational article. My younger dd eagerly saves up her hard-earned cash to donate to Kiva, a fabulous microloan provider ( http://www.kiva.org/ ). It never really crossed my mind that dd's interest in finance and the third world might mesh into a career. A gap year could certainly provide an excellent means of exploring this area of interest. She seems to have so many differing areas of interest that it's hard to imagine just what she might want to do with "the rest of her life," KWIM? You've given us something new to think about. Thank you.

[laughing lioness]

My oldest dd did "gap years" - lol! She went on a mission trip/leadership project her senior year to eastern Europe. The following year she spent 8 months there volunteering at an orphanage and traveling. Since then she has worked various jobs, applied to colleges but just couldn't pin down how to fit her interests in a small ethnic minority in Eastern Europe with higher ed. This last spring she was offered a fulll ride 4-year scholarship to an accredited college because of her travel, interests and ability to raise money ;)She just returned from another 3 week trip to E. Europe and will start studies this fall.

In the meantime she has taught herself 3 languages (conversant in all), raised over $8K in support and worked.

It was a little stressful listening to all of the naysayers about how she wouldn't "amount to anything" including the well developed guilt complex in my own head! At times she seemed obsessed, but we are seeing that her taking "time out" really gave her time to develop a passion and field of interest.