The Benefits of Taking a Year Off

Author: Lexi Delong
Posted on October 28, 2020

After I graduated high school, I decided to take a year off before starting a new adventure. I made this decision mainly because I had no idea what I actually wanted to do with my life. Who expects an 18 year old to know exactly what they want to do? Once I was done high school I swore I was done with school. I was just happy to have graduated and was ready to work, until I realized I didn’t want that anymore either. I ended up spending my year off not working or going to school, and it was probably the best choice I have ever made! 

  First of all, staying home for the year gave me time to focus on my health, and I mean actually focus on my health. No distractions, no outside stress, nothing I had to show up for. There were a lot of mental health days where I never even got out of bed. I spent a lot of time working out, changing my eating habits, and visiting the doctor to get tests done that I had been putting off because I was too busy. It honestly made me realize how important mental and physical health are to our overall well-being. I was getting better sleep and became a much happier person without the stress and drama I was going through in high school every day. I didn’t even realize how bad I had gotten until I got on the path to fixing it. 

   Secondly, having the year off allowed me to focus on things I had put on the back burner. I got to travel to a few new places with my family which allowed me to have a new view on the life I had been living in my small hometown. I was able to start working on getting my license, which I had avoided for years. I had the chance to improve my family relationships and my friendships. I even got back into some old hobbies like baking and playing the piano. I ended up reading the majority of the books that were lying on my shelves for years, and even started writing my own book! It was difficult not making my own money, and I was lucky that my parents supported me a lot, but it was great to have a chance to figure out and develop some of my passions.  

  Thirdly, the year off made me realize that I didn’t want to work for the rest of my life. Obviously one day I will have to, but when that day comes I want to make sure I’m doing something that makes me genuinely happy. Something that goes with my passions and piques my interests. I realized I want a job where, even though I’m working, I can still learn everyday. I also realized I wasn’t going to find that job unless I furthered my education. I also thoroughly enjoy learning so I knew I wanted to continue with school. At first, I considered community colleges because I didn’t think I had what it took to get into university, but I also knew I had to take a risk. When I graduated high school I never wanted to step foot in a school again, I never wanted to be graded on how well I was doing, I just wanted to be free, but after a few months away from school I missed it terribly. I wanted to learn, I started to figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life because I started to learn more about myself.  

Obviously not everyone benefits from a year off. I’m sure some of you have known what you want to do with your life since the first grade, but for me it was the best decision I ever made. At first I was upset because I was watching everyone else my age go off and do something productive while I sat at home. Then, I started watching half of those people question their decisions and I realized if I had rushed into university that would have been me, too. Or, I would’ve been enrolled in something I wouldn’t have liked or wasn’t ready to pursue. My time off helped me to learn so much about myself and to give my body and mind a much needed break after 13 years of school. I was proud of myself for making it so far, but I knew I wanted to go farther and make more of myself. I learned I wanted to go to university, for the social aspect and the education aspect, and I knew what kind of job I finally wanted to have. Throughout high school, I was overwhelmed and watching everyone else get their life together took a negative toll on my head space. I just wanted to graduate, I didn’t know anything else I wanted to do after that. My year off certainly gave me clarity to make the right choice for me, and if any of you also took time off before pursuing your academic goals then you too know what I went through. No matter what, as long as we believe in ourselves, we can accomplish whatever we believe in.