Pre-departure

The following post was written by Global Gap Year Fellow, Isaac Holmes.

“It says I’m a finalist for a gap year.”

I was shopping at Target with my mom when I saw I’d been accepted to UNC. We were taking a trip down to visit another college and had stopped to grab a few things. I was excited, of course, but I’d always seen getting in as an expectation for myself rather than an accomplishment. One of my closest friends was also accepted; she was also admitted to the honors college while I was not. I was disappointed, but my mom reassured me that it was a big deal to have been accepted in the first place.

I left Target with a UNC decal and drink koozie — it was the best merch I could find — and I thought it might cheer me up to have something tangible. We stopped for […]

The following post was written by Global Gap Year Fellow, Amelia Laursen.

Aug 29 2022

Wilmington, NC

This time last week, I was convinced I would be spending my gap year living at home and volunteering in a soup kitchen. I was convinced that I would have to go around and tell all the people I’ve told about my gap year, nope, I’m sorry, I lied, I won’t be going to Hawaii or Puerto Rico or California after all, haha lol so silly of me. I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t get a job, I failed.

This time last week, I was distraught and terrified and had this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach because three months ago, within three days, I made the decision to take a gap year and what if it’s turning out to be the most boring, unproductive year of my life and the worst decision I’ve […]

The following post was written by Bridge Year Fellow, Sophie Lowry.

*written on Tuesday, August 23*
I am currently sitting at my gate in the Atlanta airport. I am here 2 hours early, as my aunt and
uncle who live here successfully instilled in me a deep fear of the nightmare that security here
can be. I was also teeming with anticipation and could not just sit around in my sister’s
apartment this morning while she worked, so I headed to the MARTA station as soon as all my
things were together. Better to sit around in the airport, I guess? I made it through security
quick and easy, though (save for a *brief* pat-down of my right ankle). And here I am, thinking
about everything that brought me to this moment and everything to come. “Change is on the
precipice,” a friend just told me, and a liminal space like the airport is “suuuch a good place […]

The following blog post was written by Global Gap Year Fellow, Jess Foday.

My future: college essay prompts and prying parents alike force the topic into the forefront of my mind. And as I await my coronation into this perfect being I’ve concocted, I find myself talking to that future-self to pass the time. For her, I jot down book suggestions on coffee sleeves and catalog ambitious haircuts. Perhaps a partial product of my procrastination– I entrust her with much of our life, expecting she won’t snooze that alarm, hoping she starts that project, wondering if she has stuck to the path. Like some personal deity, I pray that despite her non-response, she receives the little care packages I send through time.

I am mostly content with these one-way conversations, satisfied that the silence is evidence of a fulfilling life on the other side. Still, I worry, how to actualize this […]