In many nations across the globe, young
people
who graduated from high school are encouraged to take a break by either working or travelling for a
year
prior to furthering their studies at universities. Several advantages result from taking a gap
year
yet certain setbacks are needed to be taken into consideration when making
such
decisions. In the following paragraphs, I would like to discuss possible outcomes that could be both positive and negative for our
youth
generation.
One of the advantages of taking up a gap
year
to work or travel, one could experience the reality of
life
in contrast
to living a sheltered
life
with parents or guardians.
For example
, one will need to make independent and quick decisions at times of difficulty or learn how to face challenging
people
who have ill meanings towards them. The Second benefit could be that the
youth
can learn how to manage their finances appropriately and not splurge on spending. Given that the
youth
are either travelling alone or working, they would need to learn how to optimize their spending and save up for future days.
Last
but not least, through travels and various works, their social networks will be widened by getting to know
people
from all walks of
life
.
This
will expand their understanding of adulthood and that there are various types of livelihoods that they could pursue in future and are not only limited to certain professions.
On the other hand
, there could be a possible danger of meeting the wrong crowd that could sway the
youth
to take up certain dangerous experiments
such
as drugs, or illegal activities.
Such
incidents could cause serious consequences for the
youth
if they get caught.
Subsequently
, given the degree of inexperience level and common overconfidence of the
youth
, they are prone to make wrong decisions on
life
-and-death matters
while
travelling which might result in
life
-threatening injuries or even death. To add to the setbacks, if the
youth
gain a decent financial income from work, they could develop the wrong sense of financial independence that if they could earn their current level of income, pursuing higher education would not be necessary.
This
could hinder the potential of what young
people
could achieve with better education.
To conclude
, young adults should make an informed decision and be well guided by a parent or guardian on whether to partake in a gap
year
by weighing up both advantages and disadvantages. Well-rounded Information is necessary on the type of work or place and route of travel that they would when making a sound decision to get the best experience. Precautionary actions can be planned to avoid unfavourable consequences and
life
goals could be set ahead to follow higher education.