Since the age of five, I have been in school. I love learning, but I started to have an unhealthy relationship with school in middle school. I no longer loved learning, but I was putting my worth in my grades. I found that I was making a lot of sacrifices to get good grades. I would regularly pull all-nighters to complete an assignment perfectly, I didn’t spend time with my friends because I was studying, and my Bible would collect dust because I ‘didn’t have time.’ A few months ago, I realized that school had become an idol in my life. From the outside, I looked like the perfect student who loved school. The reality, however, is that I was struggling to have a close relationship with God because school was getting in the way. I decided to take a gap year to dethrone this idol in my life, grow in my relationship with God, and rediscover my passion for the Bible and learning.
After graduating high school in 2021, I went to college because it’s what I was expected to do, even though I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Despite putting a lot of effort into figuring out what to major in, at the end of my freshman year, I still didn’t know. Being surrounded by people who knew what they wanted their future to look like and were passionately pursuing what they felt God had called them to made me feel discouraged and stuck.
I don’t know if you have ever felt stuck, but I found it highly frustrating. I was experiencing a lot of pressure to figure out what the rest of my life would look like, but I couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard I tried. Another reason I decided to take a gap year is to take the time to figure out what God has called me to and what it looks like to live into that calling practically.
I have a long list of reasons why I decided to take a gap year, but those are the main ones. Now that I knew I wanted to take time away from school, I had to figure out what that time would look like. My life coach challenged me to let myself dream about what that year could look like. Because I have always done the ‘right’ thing and what people expect me to do, I found this extremely challenging. I am adventurous, so I landed on wanting to travel after allowing myself to dream. As I considered my reasons for taking a gap year and my hopes for that time, I decided I wanted to find a Christian gap year program. I hope to grow in my relationship with God, find mentorship, and be a part of a community of believers.
I looked into several different programs and opportunities, even applying to a few. As I took a closer look into each program, I found that the World Race would help me find what I was looking for in a gap year. It was important to me that the work of the organization was sustainable. The World Race has bases to which they send Racers to help them run well, instead of sending people to serve in a community and then leaving them without concern for what happens after they leave. One of my hopes for my gap year was to find community. I am excited to be a part of the 9-month gap year program because I will be serving alongside people who are my age and at similar places in their lives.
I am incredibly excited to see what the Lord has in store for me as I serve him next year! A year ago, even 6-months ago, I would have never imagined that I would be where I am now.
