What new things have you experienced..... in your Gap Year :)

Kind of a counter thread, as I felt a bit left out of the other one :smile:

So far;

- Realised I never want to work in Retail.
- Felt rich as **** for the first time. Literally rolling in it.
- Realised how easssy living at home is with lots of spare cash.
- Grown apart from a few people who've gone to Uni.
- Realised exactly who I'm going to stay friends with through and after Uni.
- Budgeted and planned a trip across America.
- Paid for it entirely out of my own cash (feels great).
- Realised you really don't need a lot of friends to keep you happy, just people that you love.

You go :smile:

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Good for you haha

That the real world is **** scary and that I can't wait to crawl back into cosy, naive student life.

I am actually having a great time, but that's only because I expect to go to uni at the end of it.

Reply 3

.Scout.

That daytime TV is so damn addictive.

And at the end of my slack year I questioned whether further education was for me. I grew up so much on my gap year; I became so mature and independent. Going to uni was a shock, not because of the further independance but because EVERYONE here seems to be so childish and immature. I've found that hard.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 4

member520746

What exactly can you learn on a gap year?

- The satisfaction of being sat at home every day watching daytime TV and eating Doritos.

EDIT: Hahaha just as I was posting someone said about daytime TV. GAP YEARS, don't let anyone tell you they aren't productive

Reply 5

AskMeAnything

Original post by Retrospect

Haha in some ways I completely agree...

Slightly worried about Uni. By the time I'm going me and my GF will have been together 2 years and I definitely see that happening - absolutely 0 issues in our relationship so far, it's been entirely perfect. So it's quite a scary prospect of not being able to see her all the time - but my furthest uni is 2 and a half hours away, so I suppose that's better than being in Scotland!

Also I kind of feel like my freedom's going to be restricted by Uni - atm I'm pretty much free to do what I want, so going back into education's going to feel weird.

Reply 6

G550NDH

Getting Prestige mode on COD Black ops

Reply 7

Blazor

Realised although I've planned an immense 5 months in Asia, I need to go to university after, regardless of how good a time i'm having.

I've also found that the people I've been hanging around with (most with no ambition) are really fun to be with but not the type of people I want to be friends with forever. I much prefer conversation with my friends who left for university.

I've kind of been finding myself!

Reply 8

AskMeAnything

Original post by JCC-MGS

I'm doing a Philosophy course, working on my writing and art, got myself an (almost) full time job (teaches you that work is... hard work) been able to go and do lots of stuff that I wouldn't be able to do in Uni, going travelling in Feb for a couple of months with my girlfriend. So quite a lot actually.

If people don't use their Gap Years for something productive - that's their own choice :P

Reply 9

rylit91

Realised that in the real world, brains, common sense and qualifications count for nothing; and that lying thieves who have 'experience' are more desirable employees than I am.

Reply 10

Billydodger

The world is a scary, hostile, frustrating hole....unless you have money. Money buys you opportunities, happiness, choices, security, hope.

Reply 11

AskMeAnything

Original post by Billydodger

The world is a scary, hostile, frustrating hole....unless you have money. Money buys you opportunities, happiness, choices, security, hope.

What a horrible worldview. Didn't you just post in the 'what have you learnt at uni' thread?

Reply 12

xmarilynx

Original post by JCC-MGS

Gap years can be very productive - unlike school, you're responsible for how you use the time so they really are what you make of them. We aren't all sat at home watching Jeremy Kyle, y'know :wink:

That's as big a generalisation as saying that students are just in the bar getting wasted all the time and never do any work - true in some cases, but it's not far to say that's the case for everyone.

Like you OP I've also grown apart from certain people, and realised who is (and isn't) important in my life. I've also....

- Met people from all around the world (kind of a big deal for me, since before I lived in a tiny village in the north of England) and made lots of new friends
- Improved my French beyond recognition and my German's getting better too
- I'm more sure than ever of what I want to do at uni and as a career, and that I'm making the right choice
- Done a fair bit of travelling and random fun stuff :smile:

- Discovered Kriek! (A delicious Belgian cherry beer for those of you that don't know! :wink:

)
- Realised that I'll probably never live permanently in the UK again
- I'm more independent and can do more stuff for myself. My cooking's improving too - although I made my own meals at home, vegetarian ready meals don't really exist in France so I had to learn.
- Realised that education is more important to me, and more enjoyable, than I thought. I hated GCSEs and A Levels, but I'm enjoying my language classes and can't wait for uni. I'm starting to appreciate the learning itself, rather than just seeing it as a means to an end. I'm much better at motivating myself now :yep:

I'm actually tempted to take two gap years, but I should probably do the sensible thing and go to uni :colondollar:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 13

MagicNMedicine

Learned not to overdo the booze in Tanzana the night before visiting a woman with malaria.

Reply 14

relaxmansh**

learnt that finding and keeping a job is f hard

Reply 15

paper-wings

I have learnt loads...

- Moved out of my parents house into my own flat, so learning how to look after myself and pay all my bills and handle dodgy estate agents (had one flat which had blood all over the carpet which the landlord refused to admit) has been probably the most rewarding experience of my life so far.
- Having a proper job in an office, learning the value of money and learning all about being in the real world of work.
- Gaining a bit more confidence - I presented at an academic conference for senior maths teachers, and I will be presenting at a national conference for mathematics teachers.
- Learning and really understanding that without hard work and doing things yourself, you will not get anywhere in life. Your parents arent always there for you..

My gap year wasn't about saving money to go abroad and have an experience, I think that simply throwing myself into the real world is the best experience anyone can do.

Reply 16

username345307

Original post by MagicNMedicine

Learned not to overdo the booze in Tanzana the night before visiting a woman with malaria.

Tanzanah

so far I've learnt who my real friends are, working in retail sucks, you meet some weird people when working in an office, that I need a bit of prodding to do school work, and that it's nice not having to pay rent or buy food :smile:

Reply 17

naomidawn

Original post by AskMeAnything

That having contacts is better than having skills; that the novelty of working in a pub, albeit a nice one, alllllll the time can wear off; that I would very much like to move out of my parents' house; that it's very hard to keep in contact with people at uni, although hopefully christmas will rectify this...
However, I've only had 3 months of my gap year, so I'm sure I have much more to learn :smile:

Reply 18

rylit91

Original post by AskMeAnything

What a horrible worldview. Didn't you just post in the 'what have you learnt at uni' thread?

It's so true, though. :frown:

Reply 19

Wanischa

Learnt about confidence.
Pretty much, if I smile at people, they will most likely smile back so there was no need for me to avoid eyes contact in the last 19 years.
People won't kill me if I make a mistake because after all we are human.
I've also learnt about who my friends are...and how little they are willing to support me.