At the end of my Freshman year, I decided to take a semester off. I had several reasons for doing so, such as the fact that I was transferring schools. It was a bold and brave decision; one that I would be lying if I said I didn’t regret sometimes. However, I know that it was much needed and very rewarding.
Most people who take a semester (or a year) off have a reason for doing so. The reason(s) usually varies. And of course, most people do something different with their time off. Some get jobs, others travel, and some people just take the time to find themselves and come up with some sort of plan. Taking a semester off isn’t beneficial for everyone, but for me it was.
For most of my life I have struggled with knowing what I truly want out of life. I have gone back and forth on colleges, majors, and careers. I can honestly say that I probably would have never figured any of this out had I not taken this time off. I realized what was truly important. I finally understood what my life was meant for and my purpose for being here. I spent days and nights breaking down point by point exactly what I want out of life. It sounds a bit tedious, and it probably was but I benefited from it greatly.
Coming into this time off, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I didn’t know if I should get a job, focus on myself, or just use it as a vacation. As time passed I did all of these things. I had different jobs, I did my best to figure myself out, and I allowed myself to take a break. And through it all, I found my motivation to keep going.
As I said before I had various different jobs during my semester off. They were all pretty different. And through them all I realized how important my college degree is. There are people in this world that can do the jobs that I had and do just fine. And I take my hat off to those people. But for me, a college education and degree is a must. I can’t be happy working the jobs I was working and feel successful and accomplished. It is absolutely vital for my and I am now devoted to my college education in ways I never was before.
Going into college, I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted. I didn’t know what i wanted out of life or who i wanted to one day be. I thought I would learn these things in college, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. While in college I struggled with how to keep a healthy balance of a multitude of things. It was a big struggle that I couldn’t handle on my own. So I took this time off to figure out what the balance was. So basically, I had to lose myself to find myself.
Through my time off I assessed myself and created a life plan. I know what I want and who I want to be. My semester off allowed me the time to answer some of life’s biggest questions before returning to school. I decided what the most important things in life to me were and where I wanted to go next. I now have both short-term and long-term goals. I also figured out how I am going to accomplish these goals. I now have a plan.
Taking a semester off doesn’t always work for everyone. Some people take a semester off and never return. Others don’t work through what they need to and end up further behind than they started. But for others, like me, the time off is a beneficial thing. I figured out what I truly wanted out of life, I realized just how important this chapter of my life is, and I finally discovered who I am. And I couldn’t be more satisfied.
Featured image via Emma Pender on Unsplash
