My Gap Year: Bettering Myself Through Learning by Rachel

My Gap Year: Bettering Myself Through Learning by Rachel - August 2019 Scholarship Essay

During my gap year, I would do everything that I didn’t have time to do in high school. In high school, most of my time was spent at school, studying for exams and standardized tests, or going to swim practice. My school years and summer vacations were spent trying to prepare for college in some way. During that time, I wasn’t able to learn or do things that I am curious about. 

To kick off my gap year, I would love to participate in an internship abroad. Living abroad would satisfy a part of my wanderlust and would let me be exposed to new people, new ideas, and new places. I would love to do an internship abroad anywhere, as I love to explore new places, but some locations that I would enjoy going to would be South Africa, Italy, or South Korea. No matter where I end up, I would like to have an internship where I could help people. When I go to college, I want to major in biomedical engineering because I believe that I can use my interest in math and science to help people who are suffering from diseases or sicknesses. My dream internship would allow me to gain the skills needed to excel in the engineering world while also letting me have a hands-on experience where I can work with other people. Ideally, I would like if I had a paid internship so that I could use that money for college. Another way that I could help people while also participating in an internship would be to volunteer. I love volunteering and have volunteered in hospitals and food banks before. By volunteering abroad, I could be able to expose myself to different organizations that are trying to solve problems or improve lives.

Also, during my gap year, I would fulfill my long list of things that I want to learn. I would have more time to set aside to learn things that I can’t learn in school. For instance, I desperately want to learn multiple languages. Currently, I want to teach myself four languages: Spanish, Korean, Hindi, and American Sign Language. I truly believe that knowing several languages opens a person up to different worlds and different cultures that you can’t fully experience in the United States. While I am trying to learn those languages right now with my limited time, I believe that during my gap year I could make significant improvements in those languages. In addition, I have been wanting to reteach myself how to play the piano. I used to play the piano when I was younger but sadly had to give it up when I was in middle school. Ever since then, I have wanted to reteach myself because I have always enjoyed playing the piano and music in general. In combination with relearning the piano, I would love to experiment with making music. Even at a young age, I tried making music. With this gap year, I could delve into the more technical side of music and be able to express myself uniquely. Another way that I would love to express myself during my gap year would be doing art. While I am not the best at art, I love to paint and do ceramics. During my gap year, I would be able to refine my skills and become a better painter and potter. While I would be gaining all of these new skills during my gap year, I would also like to return to a few hobbies and habits that I haven’t been able to do. For example, I would love to start reading regularly again. I used to read every single day until a entered high school. I miss reading and allowing myself to escape into new worlds and, in the process, improve my vocabulary. During my gap year, I would start reading again for fun rather than just doing it for my English class. Another hobby that I would like to pick up again would be working out and staying fit. During the school year, especially when it got busy, I wouldn’t have time to go to the gym or go to swim practice every day. With a gap year, I could establish a work out routine and find physical activities that I genuinely would love to do like doing masters swimming or taking a dance class.

While I am sadly not taking a gap year before college starts, I have thought about the prospect of having time to be young and do the things that I have always wanted to do. If I were to take a gap year, I would use it to better myself into the person that I want to be: a cultured person who has the experience to excel as an engineer that can help people improve their lives.