Taking a gap year is everything that every skeptical student could ever ask for. It gives time for young adults to grow up and realize what it is that they truly want to do with their lives.

Taking a gap year is a great time to travel and see things that no normal college student would ever get the opportunity to see. These real world experiences will help shape the path of a persons life.

Academy senior, Paula Hernandez has decided to take a gap year, “I am going to Paris for six months. I am really nervous because I will be thousands of miles away from everyone I know, but I am also really excited to get to immerse myself in a new culture and be independent for the first time. I plan on taking French classes, working, interning, and if I decide to stay longer, I might even go to college there.”

Although gap years can seem scary and unknowing for your future, even Barack Obama’s daughter, Malia Obama, is taking a gap year next year. There is no word on what she will be doing for sure during this year, but after it is up she will be joining the class of 2021 at Harvard University in Boston.

Maria Zeno wanted to take a gap year this year, “I wanted to take a gap year this year and do mission work in Haiti. My parents would not let me though because they knew I would not go back to school.”

It seems very uncommon, but taking a gap year can give students a great chance to learn more about what is truly important  to them and take time to get their mind in the right place.