Taking a gap year had always been a plan of mine. Mix together a zest for travel, a passion for the natural world and an unnatural attachment to home - and suddenly it seems like the best idea! Fair enough, as it slowly dawned on me that all of my friends would be leaving me entirely alone as they jetted off to various universities across the country, the idea seemed to be slowly losing its brilliance. Cue full time work, alcohol-free existence and early nights - the gap year life started off with a bang. As I realised what real life is like (away from the protective bubble of school and academia), I finally began to understand why my parents were so tired on an evening. Regularly starting work at 7am in the morning, it was not unusual to receive texts from my friends at university saying their goodnights to me as I dragged myself out of bed at 6.15am. Feeling more depressed than ever as I looked over my financial situation, it seemed to me a bitter and twisted irony that my university friends seemed to be rolling in cash (the generosity of the student loans) while they slept most of the day and partied for a good majority of the night. I, on the other hand, struggled with shift work and poor pay whilst finding myself ageing before my eyes - tired, fed up, and broke. | "It was not unusual to receive texts from my friends at university saying their goodnights to me as I dragged myself out of bed at 6.15am" | |
For an awful moment, I realised I was turning into the stereotypical '9-5, bitter-towards-others' kind of woman that you meet in a stuffy office - the sort of person who has been there for 20 years, has no promotion prospects and is so bitter about their current situation that they spend their time moaning about more fortunate friends. Being only 18, this thought frightened me and I came to realise that the romantic notions that I had about a gap year - the long lie ins, no academic work at all... basically just a prolonged summer holiday - was as naive and unrealistic as ever it could be. So, despite the fact that university life seemed more and more attractive as the working months went on, I comforted myself with the knowledge that I would be touring the world whilst students around the globe sweated over upcoming exams. Utter, utter madness as I browsed the gapyear.com search engine with a vague idea of placements that suited my interests. Perhaps working with the environment? 22,000 placements found. Caring for animals? 18,600 placements found. In that case - working with the environment AND caring for animals? 40,000 placements found. The realisation that gap yearing had become more of an industry than a vague folly came along with the sinking feeling of dread as the prices of placements were quoted. One has to wonder just why a 3 week expedition to South Africa would cost almost £3000 - especially when accommodation was going to be in tents and the food basic at best. After spending my well-earned, precious savings on one of these tailored extravaganzas, I decided that if I were travel again it would be for the right price, and would give me some sense of wellbeing and peace with the world. So many gap year placements involve aid working and making a difference in communities, it seemed selfish of me to give my money to the gap year industry when I could tailor make my own trip. So I did - but that's another story, saved for my next diary entry! From the tiring (but strangely fulfilling) gap year working sector, Kate | 
