Why a Gap Year?

Hi! My name is Rebecca Bogart and I was born and raised in South Florida. I decided to take a gap year for multiple reasons. I’m sick of hearing stories of people who went to college for all four years and come out not knowing what they want to do afterwards or can’t even find a job in their specialized field and even getting bored of their major already! All throughout High school you are preparing for the SAT or ACT knowing that right after school you go straight to College and by the time junior year is over you must know where you are attending. It is constantly getting screwed into teenagers’ heads that college is the only way you can be successful in life. My senior year was the hardest year I had to deal with so far. I was dealing with sudden trauma and major loss. I wanted to find a new perspective of the way I looked at life. I knew I wasn’t ready to sit in a classroom again for a while or let alone focus, plus I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to major in. Why go straight to college without even knowing what I want to do in the future when I barely knew who I was and haven’t experienced life yet, I wanted to see more what’s out there. My teacher approached me near the end of April about a scholarship my school was offering about a gap year program. I instantly was interested and wanted to know more information. I went straight to the guidance counselor and started asking all these questions about the program and started to do my research about it. The next day I called Molly and she helped me apply as soon as possible. I watched every video I saw and read a couple blogs and then I was certain this program was right for me. I always wanted to learn a new language and emerge into a new unfamiliar culture. I believe that traveling is the best form of collecting knowledge.Living and experiencing this is something you can’t read out of your textbook.Once I found out that I got accepted I was so excited. I know its going to be a roller coaster ride with many ups and downs, but I was so excited to challenge myself and knew this was exactly what I needed. I have the amazing support of my teacher Ivy Schamis who told me about this program and is encouraging me with every step. I will be leaving a lot behind but gaining but more when I come back.