Should I Go on A Gap Year？

By Chuang, Yu-ting（莊喻婷）, Wen, Zih-syuan（溫子萱）

Some people think that gap year is a way to escape from reality, and others criticize that it is just a waste of time doing non-professional jobs abroad. However, Silvia Lin（林婷宜）, a 21-year-old Taiwanese student, demolished those arguments by her adventures in Europe.

At first, Silvia wanted to go on a gap year to improve her English proficiency just like most of the Taiwanese students.  Then she realized that besides language ability, what really benefits her is the whole new life experience.

In Taiwan, many students prefer to live in their comfort zone which makes them be confused about their future. Silvia said that she has never thought that she could travel to 18 countries in Europe, Morocco, and Sahara Desert all by herself. “In the gap year, I made a living by working in a restaurant and went on trips to discover life goals. I became more independent, and I could organize my life better than before. The most important thing is that I stepped out of my comfort zone unconsciously!” said Silvia with pride.

There are different opinions about a gap year, and basically parents  can decide everything for their children in Taiwan. Hu, Guang-de（胡廣德）, whose daughter graduated from college a year ago, gives two thumbs up for youths to have their own life goals, but he agrees on the premise that youths have to finish school first. On the other hand, Huang, Gui-qi （黃桂枝）who has two kids studying abroad,  said “university years are the right time to gain experiences, taking advantage of being young and being brave. Although getting a diploma is important,  you only have this time to broaden your horizon.”

Perhaps it is impossible to find the answer to life in the gap year, you could still learn how to be brave to say goodbye and let things go at  the end of every trip; furthermore, you learn to be responsible for your every decision in life.

Gap year is just like a crossroad in your life, you have to make the decision seriously because each choice may change your future.