Now this is not me saying that I believe a gap year is for everyone; however, I do think that it saved me a lot of money, time, and effort. I did not intentionally start my college career with the plan to have a gap year in the middle, or at all for that matter. When I started college, I was not completely set on what I wanted to do. This should have been the first red flag, yet I continued to keep trying to figure it out and switched my major about three or four different times while at community college. Luckily, I had a scholarship from my high school that covered the cost of my associates degree. Towards the end of my associates degree, I had decided against the most recent career I was working towards and started panicking. Unfortunately, by the end of two and half years, I still had not figured out what I wanted to do with my life. I have always been the type of person who has everything planned out and never give myself a break, so not knowing what to do next was a big problem. At this point, I had moved back home and decided that before I spent any money furthering my education, I had to be sure of what I really wanted this time.
Throughout the entirety of my associates degree, I always worked full-time hours. I was used to jobs that were typical for college or high school students. There was nothing wrong with the jobs I worked before and obviously there were opportunities to move up to different roles that required more responsibility than a college student could handle. However, during this gap year I started a new job at a pharmacy closer to home which was a whole new experience for me. Even just changing to a different occupation without the distraction of school gave me the opportunity to step into a new version of myself. I like to believe that between the ages of 19 and 22 everyone goes through self-growth in some kind of way; however, the experiences you allow yourself to have impact that growth a lot.
I was also able to spend a lot more time with my family and friends in my gap year as well. I know this is the dream: no school, 40-hour work week paychecks, free weekends. However, it also was a developmental time for these aspects of my life too. Whether it was because I was in my gap year or if it would have happened at this time anyways, I was grateful I had the time to deal with the emotions of losing contact with friends and family I once held close to me. While at community college, two of my very close family members passed away and I was able to finally process the emotions I bottled up while trying to juggle school, work, a social life, and everything in between. School is something I have always held priority above everything else, even myself. The gap year taught me how important it was not to ignore my emotions and self-care for a grade. While GPA’s are important, your mental health and personal relationships are what will get you through life.
Little did I know, the job that was helping me grow as a person and into an adult, was also something I was going to fall in love with. Starting out, I knew I wanted to be in healthcare which is what I initially began at community college. I grew up in a family that had no shortage of health issues all around, so finding a way to make an impact in the healthcare world has always been my goal. Finding the right occupation in healthcare is where I struggled the most because I am not someone who can handle the blood, vomit, or any other bodily fluids. The pharmacy let me be a part of the healthcare world and make an impact in patient’s lives without examining anything questionable or swabbing anything oozing.
Obviously, the job I started during my gap year was very important to what shaped my future; but it also gave me the time to think it through. Taking the step back and letting myself breathe was the best thing I could have done for myself at 19 years old. I will admit, starting at a university at 22 is not for the faint of heart or thin-skinned. Moving out of an apartment, back into my parents’ house, and then into a dorm was not on my “after high school bingo card” but I still wouldn’t change a thing. I would not be where I am without my family’s support, but I also would not have made this big decision without allowing myself the time to do so. This is not my support for everyone to take a gap year, but my advice to at least let yourself breathe. Sometimes it can feel like we are all falling behind in our lives. This is your friendly reminder that even if you start a six-year degree at 22, in six years you can either be 28 with a PharmD, or just 28.