Filling the gaps in a gap year
A “gap year” is a voluntary break from a career, while switching professions, or before starting university.
In the summer of 2023 I was directly affected by the round of layoffs happening in the tech industry. When all the emotions calmed down I was happy to discover how time off was the gift I needed much more than I had realised.
I had many questions from my friends about my decision not to look for a new job. Most of these questions were along the lines of “aren’t you afraid of being off the market? Will you be able to get back easily?”
And no, I’m not worried. For me it's about finally being able to explore all the things that have waited for too long. These are the gaps to be filled.
A “gap year” is a voluntary break from a career, while switching professions, or before starting university. It may also be referred to as a sabbatical, which is defined as an extended rest or break from work. It differs for every person but in general it’s a year long break. Why a year? That's not something I was able to fact-check. Maybe it’s related to the fact that university education starts once a year, so you ought to wait a year for the next round of admissions. The year is also the anniversary where Earth was approximately a year ago relative to the Sun - but you know that.
I like the term “gap year”, but not because it’s a gap in your professional career, but rather because it’s a time to explore all the things that were waiting for tomorrow. Tomorrow is always our busiest day.
You don’t need to be unemployed to find the time to explore new things, but I know from my experience that it’s hard. Being able to pause, take the time we currently have, and dedicate it to exploring is a skill needed more than ever.
We are living in an age of an abundance of information, where everything around us fights for our attention. Dedicating time to think about what’s important should be a priority, but unfortunately time-slowing machines are impossible according to the laws of physics, so we can only use the time we have been given.
I promise to share my experience with filling the gaps. Writing is one of them.
Thanks for reading!