I finished high school at the end of 2015, aged 18. Its now 2018 and I am on my third gap year. It seems crazy to some as not going to university is deemed bad and being a "bum" especially back at home where I was expected to jump right in and study straight away. I wanted to study medicine, took all the subjects and studied a fair amount during high school to get the rank score. I ended up being at Auckland University for 2 weeks before I realised its not my thing. Its weird since I worked hard in school and always saw myself studying something prestigious and having financial success.
However towards the end of high school my ethics and views changed pretty drastically. I became interested in improving my health, how we are treating animals, destroying the environment and discovering whats really happening in this world. Most importantly I cared a lot less about having heaps of money. I realised that one of the reasons why I was considering medicine was because of the decent income after finishing the degree. Even though I was scared and uncertain of doing something against the norm, I decided to leave and get a full time job in order to travel. From there on I haven't looked back and I don't regret my decision at all. I have lived in Chiang Mai, Thailand for quite some time and am now living in Adelaide, Australia. I love both of these places, have met many likeminded crew and plan to explore other parts of the world this year on my bike.
I think uni is great if you are 100% sure you want to attend and are passionate about what you are studying. However studying something you dont love and doing it because of social pressures/ your parents is not the best idea. You are in control of your life and there are many other ways to make a living by doing what you enjoy, such as earning income online. I haven't completely shut off the option to pursue further study as I may do a course online, but I am certain that the 9-5 life isn't for me. I like having a decent amount of freedom and value my health too much. I know people who have wasted a lot of money deciding on what to study, only to leave uni struggling to find a job. Then there are those who are successful, working at high paying 9-5 jobs- theres no guarantee or certainty in life.
If you are an academic and want to become a lawyer, engineer, doctor etc then university is for you, and theres nothing wrong with that. However many people out there end up jumping right in just doing it because everyone else is. In my opinion, our schooling system teaches us a lot of useless information- obviously important things such as learning to write and basic math but in the grand scheme of things Ive learnt more worthwhile info outside of school. I've found that school prepares you for university only, so once you finish its hard not to get caught up in the system of studying many years then working 9-5, paying off your student loan, buying a house and struggling to pay off mortgage for the rest of your life while popping out more kids making it harder to do so.
I could go on but to wrap it up, do what you want to do in life and dont follow the status quo. Find out what your passionate about and pursue it! If you want to travel and take a gap year or five, then so be it- but do something worthwhile and figure out what you love doing. Ask yourself why you want to study or travel. When the why becomes strong enough then the how will come instantly. Ive met some of the best people while travelling and living in different places and have had many great experiences I would like to share. This is just my opinion, if you agree or disagree share your thoughts down below! peace.
