Life's a marathon and not a rat race

I had no idea what I wanted to do after the 2-year National Service stint. During the stint, I have not really kept up with my interest in law hence I was no longer interested to continue studying law after the end of the stint. Eventually, it led to me taking a gap year as I wanted to take some time to figure my life out before deciding on university education.

 

Being exposed to different jobs that I worked. I worked in various industries such as legal, accounting, and logistics. Through work, I also networked with prospective employers and colleagues. Overall, as part of the working experience, I honed soft skills such as communication and being a team player.

 

I guess I could have traveled solo during the downtimes when I was looking for jobs. Almost a third of my gap year was spent looking for jobs while transitioning to different jobs. Job hunting is not fun at all!

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I mainly worked for different sectors as much as possible given my experience and qualifications. After having a better idea of what I wanted to do in university, much of my gap years were spent earning money to pay tuition fees. 

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They supported the idea wholeheartedly as it would mean I’d be working and having the financial means to support them. Being in a low-income family, there was not much pressure on doing undergraduate studies but rather an encouragement on finding a job to support the family. I did not have to put in much effort to convince them on taking a gap year to work. It depends from family to family. While I was not ready to enter the workforce back then, I was more in a better and informed position than I was before had I blindly furthered my studies right after National Service.

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Anyone who can afford to sacrifice some years off. Some people have already planned their life from the start such as needing to graduate at a certain age, marry at a certain age, achieve financial freedom at this age, and so forth. I’m not saying that having plans is wrong in fact, do have one but also be adaptable. When you feel like you have nothing to lose in terms of time, taking a gap year is a great option to develop yourself.

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Initially, I was pretty much focused on finding familiar and stable jobs where I don’t need to learn much. The mindset was that over time, I would eventually decide on a course that I like. However, I realized it was a bad approach because I was not making any progress after the first year. The plan was at least to establish a rough idea of my interests after the first year and resume studies afterward. By the end of the first year, I was still clueless and my savings were insufficient. So I continued on my gap year journey. By the end of the second year, things were much clearer to me as I took on an unfamiliar role and tried enrolling in an online course in computer science. As I just accepted a one-year contract job back then, I decided that another gap year would not be meaningless as the timing would be perfect since I would have accumulated enough savings, decide on a course by then, able to enroll in the upcoming August university intake in 2021 as a full-time student without disruption.

 

By the end of my gap year journey, I was more proactive in seeking my purpose than I was before, and most importantly, be less fearful of the unknown because you wouldn't know how things will go until you try it.     

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Not at all, although I wish I could have been more proactive back in my first gap year.

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Don’t dictate your life based on society’s or your peers’ standards. You decide on your own pace. Don’t be afraid to take some time off to learn more yourself. As the world evolves and so do jobs and society, gone are the days during our parents’ generation when you need to figure things out as early as possible or you would be deemed as a failure in life. Career transitions are happening every single day as we speak. Why? Our goals, needs, and employment landscape are changing. Maybe you had already planned out a career back then when you were young but when it is time for you to decide, you may no longer desire it. That does not mean failure, it is a universe’s way of telling you to consider something else. It’s okay to not follow the usual path. Be a better version of yourself by dedicating some time off to recollect and re-evaluate your thoughts and purpose. It will certainly do you wonders. The early twenties are a time of exploration and self-discovery before you embark on an adult working life. It goes without saying that if you can afford to do it then, certainly do consider a gap year.

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