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#My personality became brighter and simpler #Learned to see people as multidimensional #It became a major turning point in my life
When I first arrived in Paris I got lost at the Opéra wandering around without a map, I cried quietly with my emotions welling up while attending Mass at Notre-Dame on my first outing, and I went to visit a Belgian friend I met through pen pals and we traveled together in Belgium. Looking back, so many things happened. Sometimes while walking I felt proud thinking, ''If I''d only stayed in Korea, I could never have done things like this.''
- Paris, France, gap-year stay / Jo Jin-young — gapper / 8-week gap year |
Reason for participating in the gap year program
I needed a sort of turning point.From the beginning of my sophomore year I tried to do many things at once—double major, club activities, department events, and part-time jobs—and I gradually became exhausted and only stressed. By the time summer break came, I felt it was really time to rest. While spending that break, since I planned to take a leave of absence in my junior year and travel abroad, I searched various sites and applied to the Paris gap-year stay program.
What I wanted to change through the gap year or the goals of the gap year
I''m not naturally someone who approaches others first, so it took me quite a long time to make friends. I even had the bad habit of judging and making up my mind about people based only on first impressions; I tried to change it but it didn''t go as I hoped. I was also under a lot of stress. So through this gap year I wanted to fix the parts of myself I wanted to change in a new environment. I also wanted to find my wavering goals again.
My own gap year story
It feels like just yesterday that I boarded a plane to France on January 2, 2015, and already I''ve finished my staff activities and am leaving for the UK.
Originally I wasn''t going to take a leave; I planned to return to Korea and go to school as soon as the staff activities ended around late February, but...Planning a month-long trip and actually traveling alone!It''s the day before departure, but I still can''t believe it.
When I first arrived in Paris I got lost at the Opéra wandering around without a map, on my first outing I attended Mass at Notre-Dame and for some reason my emotions welled up and I sobbed, I visited a Belgian friend I met through pen pals and we traveled together in Belgium. Thinking back, there were so many things. Sometimes while walking...''If I''d only been in Korea, I could never have done things like this.''I felt proud thinking that.
What surprised me in Paris was that the weather was colder than I expected and that people of various ethnicities were gathered there.
It was somewhat different from the images that come to mind when you think of ''Paris, France,'' so I was a little disappointed in spots, but I also felt it was distinctive in its own way.In particular I think I felt this most in the relaxed lifestyle of Parisians.
For example, in Korea you can''t even imagine a paying customer waiting for an employee who is talking on the phone with a friend, but here that''s a scene you often see when you enter a shop, so it''s kind of surprising and it made me think that the power imbalance between staff and customers is less than in Korea. On the other hand, I was a bit envious!Before coming to Paris I wondered what I could gain from being here, and putting everything else aside for the moment,I decided to try to accept myself.I think I left with that somewhat general goal.
I mentioned it on my gap-year application too: in Korea I was, how should I say, excessively strict with myself. The pattern of getting tired of rationalizing by saying ''this is my strength!'' repeated, and as a result I became strict with the people around me, felt like I was circling the same spot, and...the inexplicable emptiness that stems from those things—things like that I felt very often.
Only after finishing my staff activities and coming back, reflecting on the past and on how I was in Korea, I think, why was I like that? I didn''t have to go that far.Rubbing shoulders with so many different people has dulled a lot of my sharp edges.Of course it would be a lie to say that everyone I''ve met so far was great, but now I think I can approach people more three-dimensionally. In the past I dealt with people very superficially and kept my distance before I knew most of them.
In conclusion, I''ve become much simpler when it comes to people!Back in Korea, I really needed this, so I think I achieved the goal to some extent. During the phone interview with the boss He said this might become a turning point in my life, and it truly became a major turning point for me.
It''s really difficult to organize two months into this piece and convey it in a way that closely matches what I felt, but the time was as enjoyable, dynamic, and hands-on as it is hard to put into words. It was also a time when I felt grateful to my family, friends, and the people connected to me.
And the roughly one-month trip ahead will be the same.
Goodbye, Paris — it was fun!
The good things about the gap year program I participated in
What I felt was best was meeting many good people. There are many bad people in the world, but I learned once again that there are just as many good people.Should I say my wariness of people has greatly eased?Most of the work at the guesthouse involved talking with people every day and having to approach and start conversations myself, so at first I didn''t adjust and it was hard, but as I kept doing it my personality became much more outgoing.
If you compare before and after participating in the gap year program?
First, my personality became much brighter than before joining the gap year. Also, I think I''ve mostly gotten rid of the habit of not doing things because of useless thoughts.If there''s something I want to do or say, I no longer hold back and can put myself first more.Previously I cared a lot about how others viewed me, but in Paris I walked around free from others'' gazes. And when making friends, it became easier to accept people as they are without prejudice.
My own travel route during the gap year
After visiting the Musée d''Orsay for the first time, I became completely absorbed in museumsOrsay, LouvreNot only that,Monet Museum, Centre Pompidou, ancient artifact exhibitionsI also went to see them. If you like art or architectural styles, I recommend taking a whole day to visit only museums and galleries or to go around Paris''s cathedrals.
AndBelgium or the Netherlands are only about two hours away by train, so it''s good to take a 1-night, 2-day trip to another country including a day off.I also went to Belgium for one night and two days to meet a Belgian friend, and when Paris started to feel boring I could enjoy myself in a new atmosphere and recharge my energy.
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