1. Why did you decide to go on exchange and as a gap year?
As a Freshman in high school, I had to listen to many discussions about taking advantage of the next four years of opporunity. Students were always reminded to prepare for life after school, and the guidance counselors would take every chance to list off all the options and opportunities they encourage students to take, in order to reach their future goals. Rotary exchange as a junior or as a gap year student were thrown out as options. Even though I didn't admit it, exchange was always a tempting option that I kept in the back of my mind from day one. Nevertheless, I followed the pack and said I wanted to go to a four year college right after high school.
My sophomore year, I went with the Spanish club to Spain. This is going to be cliche, but the trip was the start of a new mindset for me; it opened my eyes to a world of posibilities. I had always loved to travel, but this experience in a new country, with a second language, was so exciting. It got me thinking hard about the world and where I want to be in the future. This realization came too late, as I missed the opportunity to apply and go out as a junior exchange student (though now I feel that I wouldn't have been ready anyways). In talking to other junior year exchangers that came back and still had their senior year, the majority said that they wished they had waited to go out as a gap year, because being at school after such a life-changing year was hard.
So...I went into my junior year talking to my parents about a gap year, but I still wasn't fully convinced. In fact, after doing my first 8 college tours during February vacation of my junior year, I figured I didn't need the gap year because of the amazing study abroad options that colleges now have to offer. But then, I went on my trip to Ecuador. I returned to America once again with that worldly/future oriented mindset and with my eyes wide open. And they say timing is everything, because within a few weeks of my return, our Rotary district outbound coordinator came to my school to present about exchange. Having just come back from my trip, I listened to the presentation with open eyes and an open mind. The presentation included two short videos about the program, and speeches from a couple of inbound exchange students at our school (ones that I had created close friendships with). I sat there and took it all in.
That's when I knew.
I knew I wanted to be an exchange student and have the unique life-changing experience that others rave about. I knew I wanted to become fluent in a second language (preferably Spanish). I knew it was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up, at a time in my life that was perfect because I knew I would be out of high school and not stressing about my return. I knew gap years were becoming more popular and were seen as a positive mental break. And I knew that putting off college for a year wouldn't hurt, especially if I was able to defer from the school I wanted to attend.
So long story short, I made this decision because all the signs were pointing me in this direction and I realized that it was an opportunity that I couldn't ignore.
More FAQ's responses to come.
If you have any other questions, feel free to email me or comment and I will do my best to get back to you.
If you want to practice your Spanish, email me in Spanish. It's great practice for me too!
No comments:
Post a Comment