Spaces and exchanges - gap year

SPACES AND EXCHANGES

I’m going to talk about the notion “spaces and exchanges”, starting by giving a brief explanation of what this concept is.

 [INTRODUCTION]  So, what’s this notion about? This notion deals with the geographical and symbolic areas that all societies occupy and the interactions between men and different societies. Our world is built on the exploration and conquest of new spaces. The different cultural, economic, sociological and language interactions have shaped and characterised our modern-day world. That’s why today, I’m going to talk about gap years and I’ll try to answer the question:  [KEY WORD] To what extent does travelling to a foreign country like doing a gap year broaden our horizons? [PLAN] First, we’ll see what is a gap year in general, then, we will discuss on why taking a gap year. Finally, we will see what are the advantages and the drawbacks of it.

[DEVELOPMENT] 

1. (…) what is a gap year

First and foremost, what is a gap year? It is usually a constructive 12-month break taken from study or work for the individual to pursue other interests, generally different from their regular life.
Following on from this definition, if you’re a professional taking a break from your formal work life to pursue other interests, we can also say that you’re more likely to refer to this year as a “sabbatical year” – you’ll spend your time pursuing activities that will either greatly supplement your regular line of work, or will be completely unrelated to it.

The term “gap year” is more commonly applied to students who take a year, or less, away from their regular studies, usually between high school and university. Some students may instead take a gap year after graduating from university, to better prepare themselves for entering the workforce.
As such, a gap year can be any break taken between life stages, whether that is between school and university, between university and formal work, or when changing careers or going into retirement later in life.

Today, thousands of people are taking gap years all over the world, travelling to destinations such as Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand for months on end. A gap year can be anywhere, for any length of time, doing anything you want.
You can work, you can teach languages, you can do volunteering, you can be with animals, children, a gap year really is whatever you want it to be.

A gap year it's about living life to the full and realising that there is a world of opportunity out there just waiting to be explored.

1. (…) why taking a gap year

There are many reasons why you might want to take a gap year. Typically, students view it as an opportunity to gain professional or personal experience, achieve specific goals and explore personal interests.
There are many reasons why someone should take a gap year before college: they’ll know what’s important in life, they’ll be experts at adapting to new places, they’ll have something to talk about like the experiences they’ve lived, they’ll make new friends. Doing a gap year will make someone realize what they really love before start studying like it’s so common that college students commit themselves to one area of study, then realize it’s not for them, and they swap to a completely different major… often two or three times. So, if someone takes a gap year before college, he or she can decide how they want to spend their academic experience before getting there. Also, doing a gap year will give someone time to think and breathe and be on long train rides from country to country will give them the time they need to think of their future and of what they really want to do to their lives.

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