Gap Year , Not A Lost Year.

So when people say "gap year", the first thing that comes to some people mind is either, “You are wasting your time,” or “You are not serious with your life.” but for me, I honestly think it depends on what exactly the person is doing during that gap, Like me now, I am currently on what you would call a gap year, and it is not like I planned it or anything o, it just happened because of the situation I found myself in.

After my OND program, I was supposed to either go straight for my HND or try direct entry into a university, but life, as usual, had other plans, First of all, I am still waiting for my result to be out, and then again, there is the financial aspect of things, School is not beans at all, so instead of sitting at home doing nothing and just waiting, I decided to use this gap period to try and earn money. Something small here and there to support myself and not just be totally idle.

I do not know about other people, but this gap year for me has been eye opening in some ways, It has made me think more about life, responsibility, how to manage time and even how to survive when things are not going the way you planned, at first, I used to feel somehow when people asked me, “What are you doing now?” and I couldn’t say “Oh, I am in school” or “I am working with so and so company," I just felt like people were judging me or looking at me somehow. But now, I have gotten used to it.

The truth is that everybody’s journey is completely different, what works for one person may not work for another person,taking a gap year does not automatically mean you are lazy or you are unserious person, It could actually be one of the best decisions you make, especially if you are using that time wisely, whether it is to earn money, gain experience, figure out what you want to do, or even just rest and plan better, that year might be what will even reset your whole life.

See I have seen people who used their gap year to learn a skill, travel, take care of their mental health or just breathe and realign, and when they finally resumed school or got another job, they came back even better and even more focused,on the other hand, some people just waste the entire time just doing nothing useful, That is where the issue is , If you are using your gap year to just lie down every day, pressing phone from morning till night, then obviously it us not going to add anything to your life.

In my own case, I am trying my best to use this time to grow,I am trying to be active on Hive, learn new things online, and explore other legit ways to earn, see it is not easy at all, but I believe it will make sense in the end, sometimes it feels like time is running too fast, like “God, what am I even doing with my life?” but then I remind myself that as long as I am trying, it will all add up eventually.

So yeah, gap year or no gap year, I feel it is all about what you do with that time, If you are being intentional and making effort, then it is definitely not a waste at all, it could even be one of the best moves for your growth, the key thing is to not compare yourself with others, and to just keep showing up in your own little way.

_{This is my response to the Hive Learners Prompt, Week 176 Edition 3}

_{Image Is Generated With Meta AI}