Gap Year: How to find yourself between school and university

I had no idea that one year could change everything, from understanding myself to my life goals. My gap year was not just a pause but a real journey to my inner self.

Content

• Why is a gap year the best solution for young people?
• Uncertainty is normal
• Have you thought about whom you really want to be?
• How do you find your purpose?
• Does a gap year guarantee that you will find yourself?
• What should those who want to do, but do not know how?
• Conclusion

Why is gap year the best solution for young people?

You have to go to work as soon as the opportunity arises!

You won’t find a normal job without a diploma!

A year without studying is for lazy people!

Everyone goes to university, so I have to go…

We know, right? Where took such concepts? I can only assume that it all started in the Soviet Union — it’s hard to say for sure. But very similar. After all, under communism, a person’s success was measured exclusively by his economic productivity. In the modern world, these narratives are also reinforced by the postulates of capitalism.

In society, there has been a “drawn route” for a long time: school→ university→ work→ family→ retirement→ eternal peace. This is considered “real life”. But is it really so?

In that period of life, when it is important to find oneself through various experiences, we hear such phrases and eternal “advice”. We are driven into some strange framework. Instead of being encouraged to make more conscious choices about the future, we get pressure and condemnation. And this, of course, helps to increase the level of anxiety and depression. But definitely not “successful success.”

Uncertainty is normal

At the age of 17 – 18, few people know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. And that’s absolutely normal. We are humans, not an artificial intelligence that always has an answer.

Uncertainty ≠ laziness, failure, or indecision. This is a stage. Everyone goes through it — and not only in youth (there is also a midlife crisis, hello). A gap year is like an official invitation to get to know yourself. During this year, you can ask yourself several uncomfortable but important questions:

who am i What kind of future do I want? And most importantly, why?

The answers are not always pleasant, but they are the ones that help to move from the mode of “going with the flow” to the mode of “living consciously.”

Have you thought about whom you really want to be?

One of the biggest illusions: we are defined by our profession.

When I was first asked what I wanted to be, I didn’t know what to say. That’s why my mother said “an architect.”

“I will become an architect.“I will be a lawyer.” From childhood, we learn to respond with patterns. But rarely does anyone say:

“I want to fight economic inequality, because I dream of living in a harmonious society.”

Or:

“I want to be a happy part of something bigger!”

It may sound strange to relatives. But if you yourself believe in it, then it is this goal — and not the expectations of the environment — that will determine your path.

We often go through the options of “who to be,” like on a shopping spree. But you need to start not with choosing a role but with understanding the goal. Because what difference does it make if you are a baker, a deputy, or a truck driver if your vocation is to improve the lives of people in your city?

How to find your purpose?

A difficult existential question… But there is a hint: the purpose of life is related to your values.

And values are formed through:

• family education,
• environment,
• life experiences.

Until the age of 16, the family has the strongest influence. And then the environment. The environment itself will either help you grow or slow down this process.

When you are among people who are also searching, doubting, reflecting, the search becomes more productive. The right environment gives the right experiences.

And a gap year is a great moment to:

• study different philosophies and test them in practice,
• Meet people who think differently.
• travel not as a tourist but as an explorer,
• discover new sides in yourself,
• change your worldview or strengthen yours,
• to be disappointed in life, oneself, and humanity, but then to grow up.

And this list has no end.

Does a gap year guarantee that you will find yourself?

No.

Absolutely not.

It took me personally more than two years to even come close to understanding my calling. And I still cannot name my future profession with certainty. But I know my values. I know what is important to me. And this is enough to move not by inertia but consciously.

“Finding yourself” is not a destination but a way of traveling. If everything was known in advance, it would be… boring.

What should those who want to do but do not know how?

Find a community where you are not afraid to be in search. For example, NWET :)

Because a gap year without support is like hiking in the mountains without shoes. You can, but it hurts a lot.

Study everything that interests you. Listen to yourself, people, and life around you. Challenge your ideas about the world. And try it. Because it is not theory that forms character, but experience.

Talk to those who have already walked this path. Especially with those who work a lot with people. Their stories are not just an experience but a navigator.

And travel not for the sake of rails but for the sake of growth. It’s surprising, but it’s a fact: other cultures help us better understand our own.

Conclusion

A gap year is not a lost year. This is an investment: in yourself, in honesty, in experience, in peace and rest, and, of course, in your future.

P.S. On our programs, you can learn more about practical steps for quality organization of your gap year. Let’s give advice, support, and laugh at failures together :)