Adventures of a Simpleton

Planning a Gap Year

is actually extremely difficult. It’s pretty fun and there are a ton of opportunities out there. However, it’s so stressful and it makes me nervous about the whole concept of it as well.

If I do take a gap year, I will have to fund it 100% by myself…which is a difficult task. Well, if I get NSLI-Y and accept the scholarship, they will pay for it (sadly, I’m still waiting for my notification from them). I just don’t want to put all my eggs in a basket. Plus I think I will learn a lot more by planning and funding everything on my own.

I’ve got a pretty solid plan for the first several months of the year, but the rest is up in the air. I still have to secure a job as well to fund it, and the whole plan hinges on that. This is what I have so far:

Now-June: Work to Raise Money

July-Aug: Vacation in China with Cousin

Sept-Oct: Photojournalism Internship in Tokyo

Nov-Jan: WWOOFING in Japan (it’s basically working on farms)

Feb-July: ???

During that ??? time, I hope to work in China to make some money. Then depending on how much I make, go to rural China/Tibet/SE Asia/India to do something. I’m just planning on staying in Asia for the year, since all my costs come from transportation. The best case scenario is that I only fly from the US to China, and then back to the US from wherever I end up. I’ll use buses/trains/boats/walking for the rest of the year.

I don’t want to plan things too far in advance since I know that my feelings might change and other opportunities might arise. I think being flexible will be to my advantage in that sense.

Well, that’s just my gap year stuff. On the bright side, I’ve committed to Yale! Now, I just have to decide whether I will be going this year or next year…