Let’s Take a Break from Studies

A year’s break from studies, especially after graduation, can help you find out your strengths and give you time to chart your professional graph

Your exams are over and result should be out in a month. Three years passed and you are now done with college life. You enjoyed, you learned and made friends. But now is the turning point of your life and you have to take the decision. Job or higher studies?

But the confusion is that you are bewildered by your own choice of subjects in college.  You don’t find yourself as focused as you were three years ago. What’s the solution then? Possibly, a gap year.

Do not take the phrase literally. Gap year is quite the opposite of what the term suggests. A gap year is not a year of doing nothing. In fact, it could be the most rigorous year of your life. If you are not monetarily constrained, then this is the time to go find out what you are good at.

Indian scenario
Most children in India are taught to toe the line of traditional education system: School — Graduation — Post Graduation — PhD/Job. There is a complete absence of familiarity with “taking the year off” kind of ‘luxury’ which the West can afford. Indian kids are taught to live and survive under pressure — both educational and professional. However, the concept of ‘a gap year’ is slowly seeping in between college and the rest of life.

The concept
This excludes a quiet bout of introspection in your smoke filled shoddy room for twelve long months. A gap year is traditionally a very active year in a young person’s life. It is best to ensure that the activities you get involved in during this period have positive bearing upon your life.

Usually, a gap year is the time when one could take up a short term job, volunteer with environmental groups, be involved in anti-poverty campaigns, work for any NGO, travel abroad or across the country or simply pursue one’s passion or hobby and explore if it could be turned into a career.

The trend is yet to pick up in India as taking a year off is often considered a sign of incompetence. Also there is a lack of awareness and benefits of such a move. But some structural support is already in place. India, surprisingly, has a gap year college (GYC) in Mussourie, Uttaranchal. What’s a gap year college?

A gap year college is an alternative learning space. It provides opportunities to develop non-traditional competencies. Usually courses in philosophy, cultural studies, language, literature, music, arts, ontology, readings, films, fieldwork, seminar interactions, exposure trips and personal exploration are offered. Admission is open all year round.

Benefits
So you see that a gap year does not leave you purposeless. In fact, it is, for all practical purposes, ‘time bound’ and ‘well planned.’ There is also an impressive range of online resources directing you to achieve your goals. The perception of a gap year is also slowly changing in India in spite of the formidable competition in the job market. Parents now realise that alternative careers and lifestyles can better utilise and develop the potential of a youth. There has been a 25-30% increase in the number of students taking a year off. Also, all the activities and engagements in the gap year look good on your resume apart from giving you an insight into your aspirations and capabilities and a better understanding of life.

So go all out and explore!