01 Jan 2018

By now you’ve probably spent at least a hundred waking hours thinking about your gap year. Whether you’ve got every single detail booked and paid for or you’ve literally got no money saved and only some really vague plans, there are a few things you should definitely do.

This is the time to relax and let loose. It’s time to do all that stuff you’ve been planning for ages but haven’t had time for. It’s time to get excited. School is over. Let the fun begin.

1. Take a minute to relax 

You just spent 13 years in school and you’ve most certainly earned a rest. Binge-watch some bad television. Take a nap on the couch. Have a cup of hot chocolate. Spend the whole day in your pyjamas. Obviously there are better things to do on your gap year than nap, but you should definitely make time for some rest and relaxation.

2. Party 

If there was ever a time to go completely wild, this is it. You don’t have to become a full-time trash bag party animal but you can most certainly dabble. Just sayin’.

3. Go somewhere you’ve never been

If you’ve been saving up your cash for an epic adventure around Europe or Asia, hats off to you. You’re going to have an amazing time. If not though, why not organise a little road trip somewhere? Set up camp for a few nights in a national park. Hit a random beach. Go to a random suburb out west. Just go somewhere new.

4. Learn some new skills 

Learn a new skill. It might be something that takes years to perfect, like becoming a tattooist or a dog breeder. Or maybe you just want to get really good at cooking pasta. By all means, give yourself a little break from academic learning but never stop learning those life skills.

5. Make some money

There’s nothing more grown up than going out and earning your own money. You don’t necessarily have to start building a serious career, in fact it’s probably better that you try a whole range of things. Stack shelves, wait tables, pull beers, work in a call centre, wash dishes, push paper. It’s all experience, even if you go on to do something completely different later on.