Pro/Con: Taking a gap year

of later.

whether it’s your health or someone else’s health at risk, it can be hard to focus in class and keep up with your assignments. A gap year can help you take a breather and think about what’s really important.

SAMANTHA BRAVO sambravo.roundupnews@gmail.com

@RU_SamBravo

School, work, family, friends. It seems like there isn’t enough time in the day to enjoy life. That’s why I think it’s important for students to think about a gap year and how it can help reduce stress in their life.

Whether you just graduated high school, or into your 2nd year in college, taking a gap year anytime can help you get prepared or caught up for your future.

If you are unsure of which direction or career path you want to pursue, taking a break from school can help you find clarity and make better decisions.

Feeling adventurous? Thinking about traveling but don’t have time? A break from school to take a trip somewhere has many benefits. You can relax, gain experience and maybe learn a new language. Coming back from a road trip or vacation gives you a different mind set and gives you that boost and energy to continue your studies.

Lost motivation? If you get mentally and emotionally burnt out it’s important to slow down and think about your priorities. Take care of yourself by taking a break from school. If a tragedy or emergency happens,

Can’t keep up with rent? Books and classes can get expensive. A gap year can help you get caught up financially, working and affording college on your own.

Have family, or starting a new family? It’s important to take time off school for a while and focus on what’s best for you and your family.

Figuring out what you want to study, or even the next step can be a hard decision. Taking a gap year can help you plan and organize your semesters so when you return to school you know what to do without wasting time.

Feel like doing something good for others? Gap year can let you volunteer and help out your community with the time you have.

A gap year is just like a long holiday. Taking a break from school now is good, once you get closer to your career it will get harder to even consider taking a break from school.

Just because it’s called a “gap year,” doesn’t mean it’s a year. It can be a short term or long term semester. Just enough time for you to think about the next step in your education.

So if you are thinking about a gap year, it’s okay to take a break and think about what you want, but don’t get too comfortable and lose track of your education goal.

VICTOR HERRERA vherrera.roundupnews@gmail.com @Vicroundup

School should always be a top priority for students. Many students prefer not to go to school at all. They would rather be on vacation or taking breaks in order to just be away from school and not have to worry about it.

As nice as it may sound, to be on vacation for a long period of time and not go to school or stress over homework, tests and projects would never accomplish a degree or lead to a successful career. It’s our job as students to attend school and get our education by taking classes and finishing them. Students shouldn’t take a gap year from school. A gap year has a lot of negatives that can slow students down from accomplishing their careers and goals. One would be the fact that you are losing a whole year of schooling and prolonging your career. It’s not a month or a semester, it’s a whole year.

Losing a year of school will postpone graduation for another year. You will be a year older when you graduate from school instead of finishing a year before. The faster you aim for your education and finishing school, the faster your graduation will come. It will get school done a lot sooner and out of the way instead

Often times, students lose continuity when they take a year off. As a result, they lose motivation and focus to continue their education. Students tend to get lazier and get comfortable being away from school. Their momentum, enthusiasm, and the grinding of having to wake up early every day and do school related tasks stops and makes students not want to get back to a school routine. Whether it’s barely starting college or coming back from where they left off, a gap year can affect students’ mindset and become a discouragement or failure.

Parents also become part of the decision in taking a gap year. Not all parents support the idea of wanting their kids to take a year off. I believe parents would want their children to finish school without any gaps to finish sooner and younger.

Best of all, finding a career younger and sooner can get you started on a successful path to a brighter future. After all, isn’t that the students’ goal? To start the career they have been envisioning since they entered college?

The advantage of students not taking time off from school is that they will be dedicated and determined to finish what they started. They will look forward to fulfilling aspirations to pursuing a goal their family may have never reached before.

That in itself should give a feeling of satisfaction that would not lead me to ever think about putting off school for a certain period of time and begin to achieve my career endeavors.