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#Reduced anxiety about the future, a more proactive life #Valuable connections, everyday life in Paris #Everything depends on my choices
One month of gap-year life, and even a year-long leave from school, didn''t change me so much that it was visible on the outside. I still haven''t decided on a career path, and I haven''t even thought about the life blueprint that was the final goal of my leave. However, I clearly realized that there is a wider world beyond school, and that solid preparation is necessary to go out into that world.
- Paris, France, Gap Year Stay / Lee Ji-hye, gap-year tribe gapper / 8-week gap year |
#I wanted to do what I wanted to do.
After finishing the second semester of my junior year and thinking about what to do during the break, I felt a vague sense of disillusionment.
It was a major I entered because I liked it, but over the past three years, did I really study what I wanted?
Didn''t I just pick classes from professors known to give good grades like everyone else, cram a day or two before exams, and get by?
Rather, I felt more uncertain about what I wanted to do than before entering university, and nothing interested me. Thinking ''I can''t keep living like this,'' I suddenly applied for a leave of absence.
My goal for taking a leave was quite different from others''.More than TOEIC, certificates, or résumé-building, I wanted to do what I truly wanted.
Others might think it pitiful to take time off with only a year until graduation, but my only thought was, ''Let''s have fun doing what I want!''
Exactly like everyone else, doing just as much as everyone else.For someone like me who had never stepped outside the standard of ''ordinary,'' taking a leave to have fun was a fairly big decision.
#At the midpoint between travel and everyday life
While thinking about what to do, I remembered the lecture by CEO An Si-jun who had given a special talk at our school and learned about a program called Gap Year Stay. I was very interested in the idea of traveling while living daily life, and, above all, because of the nature of guesthouses...I applied because I liked that I could meet various people and experience many different thoughts and values.
It was my first time going abroad alone, so I was very nervous and anxious, but I met good people, received help, and was able to spend the two months safely. In fact, it felt like the fastest time that had ever passed in my life.What I liked about that place was that it was between travel and everyday life.
Since it wasn''t a trip with a tight schedule to follow, I could enjoy sitting for hours in outdoor cafés, writing in my diary and watching people go by, and because it wasn''t everyday life, even the most ordinary things felt new.
#Precious connections gained through the gap year
But more than anything, the most valuable thing I gained from the gap year were the people I met there.
From the owner who seemed a little scary at first but was warm once you got to know them, to the aunt who always cooked such delicious meals that I didn''t miss my mom''s cooking for two months, to the staff who lived, worked, and went out together and before long became like family, to the guests who set off on their journeys with their own stories — I gained incredibly precious relationships.
From the environments they''ve lived in to their ages and the work they do,I heard many different stories from people who were different in every way, and I often thought, ''The path laid out for me isn''t the only one.''For someone like me who had been living as if the path were already set, that was quite a shock and also an encouraging realization.
#Everything depends on my choice.
When I meet friends and talk about the future, most of them don''t look happy. Some sigh and avoid talking about the future. I find that really sad.We''re still young and at an age with many things we want to do, so it''s sad that we hold anxiety and worries rather than expectations and hope about the future.
There are truly many paths I can take, and all of them depend on my choices.There''s no wrong choice no matter which path I choose. After gaining this realization, strangely my anxiety about the future disappeared. My impatience while watching friends busy building their résumés also went away. Instead, thinking about what to do next began to become fun.
#After the gap year: I gained the courage to take the next step
Having a gap year didn''t mean I changed or that my life suddenly had firm standards. I did have vague expectations about that, but I''m still clumsy and live as the poster child of ''ordinary,'' teased by my friends as a fool. However, when I finished the two months and returned to Korea, I felt a sense of achievement that I had accomplished something, and I don''t know what I''ll do next but...I gained a small courage of ''I can do it.''
Wasn''t this what I needed more desperately than anything else? I mean the courage to take the next step.It''s natural to be scared and fearful when starting something new. Letting go of what I currently have is also really difficult.
At times like that, recklessly jumping in isn''t a bad thing.
You''ll surely think afterwards, ''It wasn''t a big deal.'' I was often told I was just chasing ideals and lacking practicality, but I believe that a small courage to act right now turns dreams into reality.Rather than being anxious and worried about a distant future, I want to move forward slowly, one step at a time like this.
Finally, I want to thank Korea Gap Year for planning such a great program and for working hard for the young people of Korea who are still wandering in search of their ''dreams,'' and the guesthouse owner who helped make those plans possible and became a reliable support for me while I was away from home.
★Tip for the next participant★
Two months can be, in a way, either long or short. If you come only with fantasies and romances about ''Europe'' or ''Paris,'' this time might feel quite tough. I think you should enjoy traveling freely outside working hours, but you must clearly have responsibility for the work. Properly balancing work and travel seems very important.
My gap year is..
Experience ★★★★★
Everything I encountered there was a new experience: the guesthouse staff, daily life in Paris, traveling, the people I met there... there wasn''t a single thing that wasn''t new.
Learning ★★★★★
There was learning in the work itself, but through the people I met there I was able to think a lot about myself and my life, and I gained many realizations.
Environment ★★★★☆
There were some inconveniences with the transit pass, but regarding sleeping, washing, and eating there were no inconveniences at all — it was a comfortable environment.
Safety ★★★☆☆
Unfortunately a terrorist attack occurred during the time I was there, so I was a bit anxious, but afterward security was strengthened and I didn''t particularly feel threatened. However, you always have to be careful of pickpockets and street beggars... if you let your guard down you''ll get targeted!
Leisure★★★★☆
After finishing my assigned working hours, the rest was entirely my time. I enjoyed visiting museums, sitting at outdoor cafés writing in my diary, and idly sitting in pretty parks watching the sky — that leisurely routine was really nice.
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