Life is filled with surprises and uncertainties, one minute you have everything all planned out and suddenly the plan falls short. Making plans is the one of the many things common in the lives of most people, in order to plan the future accordingly. I mean if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. Everyone trying to do their best with whatever resources they have but the bitter truth is that, most things don't really turn out the way we want them to be. It might just be a slight change but it changes the entire direction of a person's life.
When it comes to academics, it also part of the plan but the funny thing about this plan is that, it is made before a child even knows what education means. Parents already outlined courses their children will study without consulting anyone of them, all they will do is keep leading the child in the direction of the course as the climb through the academic ladder.
One of the reasons why most parents tends to make plans for the education of their child, is not just about the child study the course they desire but to ensure that the necessary funds and resources needed for the children educational pursuit is available. When most uneducated people here of education, most people just think of it as a stroll in the park. The fact is, education is money eater and a child without a good financial support always end up having issues along the line.
Apart from this, I have seen some couples setting aside some funds their children before having any child. It makes you wonder what they are planning towards, it is called having alternative plans. The fact is no one knows how life would turn out, there are some couples who would want to go on a maternity or paternity leave during the early or late stage of pregnancy but the company they are working for might deny them such privilege and the next thing in line would be to let the job go or what about cases of couples needing funds due to some complications in their marriage or childbirth, such funds can easily be deployed. Life is filled with lot of challenges and no one knows the one that would hit first, which is why people make plans, even with plans, things can still go wrong.
Is taking a gap year a good move for growth? It depends on the reason. Taking a gap year could be as a result of a lot of things, it is usually taken by a person due somethings that needed more attention. In education, a person could be going through some financial issues, family issues or marital issues which would warrant the person to take a gap year, in order to settle whatever is bothering them so that they can have a clear mind to focus on their studies.
I did something similar, after my national diploma, it is a requirement that I go for my industrial training which I did at Lagos traffic radio. It lasted for about a year and after that I was expected to go back to school for my higher national diploma but I didn't. I waited for another year and continued working. The reason was that, I needed some funds to start up something for myself while processing my HND but the moment I finished the one year industrial training, I wan not anywhere close to the amount of funds I needed, so I waited another year to get the numbers I wanted.
I believe when someone decides to take a gap here, it should be because of a genuine reason. While the person stays away processing whatever they have in mind to achieve during the gap year, it is also a form of growth, as long as the person stick to the purpose and he/she is able to achieve it, then it is indeed a good move for growth. Is it just an excuse for procrastination? if a person fails to achieve whatever the reason he/she chooses to take take a gap year and still fail to remain true to the plan they have created, then it can be considered an excuse for procrastination instead of growth.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled Gap year in hive learners community.
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