Gap Year: How Delaying College Changes People in Ways the World Needs

2. Changes in Themselves

2 Changes in Themselves Gap year volunteers nearly universally commented on the profound, often lifealtering impact they felt the experience had on their lives.As a volunteer teacher in rural Honduras said, “As cliché as it sounds, it was life changing. It changes the way you look at the world and the way you look at yourself.” Although the perceived outcomes of taking a gap year are different for each person, there are some clear patterns and themes. Understanding of Themselves Participants frequently recalled how the gap year helped them “understand themselves” and become more “comfortable” with whom they are as distinct people and less susceptible to the “pressures” of others. Carla, a volunteer in Peru, illustrated this: “It sounds strange, but I also feel a lot calmer and content with myself than I did before.” Other volunteers expressed this theme: Before I went on my gap year, I was very influenced by what other people said and did; since then I am more certain in my personality and decision making abilities. —Florence, South Africa I don’t need to seek approval of others as much; I am more comfortable with myself. —Samantha, Honduras I feel that I am much more aware of who I am now. —Jason, Botswana Highlighting this same theme, Brenda, a volunteer in Honduras, emphasized the great intrapersonal learning and changes she felt she underwent. She described her year as more “challenging than fun” and said: “I realized that I can Changes in Themselves 25 be what I want to be. Before I was the person that my parents wanted me to be, but I realized I have my own personality and my own views. No one is pulling the strings anymore.” Volunteers’ narratives suggest that a variety of aspects of the year catalyzed introspection and self-understanding. First, for many volunteers being challenged in new ways was centrally important. Brenda, for instance, recalled: “It was in the rough times that I learned about myself; I was so sure about myself before, but the challenge in my year challenged me in how I live. It opened my eyes to who I was. It makes you see all your strengths and weaknesses and things you don’t want to see in yourself.” Volunteers frequently reported learning through challenges or even “suffering ,” often spurring them to reflect on their role in the world. Others found that the new challenges of the year helped them to see how they behaved, reacted, and their own “limits” in new and different situations. Volunteers described feeling that after their year they, as one said, “know what [they] like and do not like” and how they operate in different environments. For instance, a woman who was India for her year reported her developing “sense of who I am” from her experiences, especially from being pushed outside her “comfort zone”: “I’ve gained a sense of who I am. When I was out of my comfort zone I was more easily able to get to know myself and what I can handle and what I can’t.” In addition, many volunteers felt that getting away from the pressures and culture of home (and off the “academic treadmill”) was critical to facilitate introspection and self-understanding. As Kyle, a volunteer in Guyana, said, “You’re free there—you can be yourself, which helps you understand yourself.” In the case of Brenda, her gap year pushed her to discover more about herself as she was “challenged” in a space removed from her previous social life and family in Holland: I also looked at myself more because you have time to. You have time to think during your year . . . and you have no friends or family to keep you in one direction . . . the best thing about the gap year is that you have time to think without pressures from your life before. And during the gap year you can’t fall back on family and friends—and you realize that, shit, I am a complete mess. Other volunteers echoed this idea that space and distance from their previous lives facilitated their intrapersonal understanding. Leah, for example, said that being away from family and her “crowded life of work, friends and busyness gave [her] space to develop emotionally and [she] learned [her] strengths and weak- 26 Experiencing the Gap Year nesses.” Many other volunteers thought having free time was valuable for them in creating opportunities and...