One alumna’s honest letter to our recent graduates about slowing down, saying yes to fun, and taking the road less scheduled.

Two years ago, I finally accepted that my parents are (shockingly) right. Much like most of the Class of 2025, I had just committed to college and was preparing for this major transition. Throughout this period, my parents had floated the idea of me taking a gap year. I shut it down every time, certain that I wanted to go straight to college. But in late April of my senior year, they finally convinced me. They argued that in high school, we are at least somewhat focused on getting into college. In college, we will be at least somewhat focused on getting an internship, job, or higher education placement. There is no time for kids to be kids freely — to explore and have fun, completely untethered from the rat race. So I deferred my enrollment to Georgetown, and my gap year began. 

My parents gave me free rein to do whatever I wished with my gap year, with one exception: I could not just hang out aimlessly at home. Over the course of the year, I worked at Guzman y Gomez, helped teach art classes at a local art studio, and received my yoga teacher certification. 

I also travelled, spending time volunteering at a rehabilitation center for abused horses that had been rescued from slaughter auctions in the Mojave Desert, interning at a bird hospital in Oregon, and helping out at an apple cider orchard in Denmark. At the risk of my parents saying ‘I told you so’ when I get home this summer, taking a gap year was the best decision possible. 

The experiences I had, including the many mistakes I made, inculcated some vital lessons. 

First and foremost, I was reminded that some of the most uncomfortable, yet important, growth occurs when we are alone. Once you get to college, the lines between your school, social, and personal life are blurred like never before, because all three of those lives coexist in the same space. Carve out the time to be with yourself, to slow down, to reflect. In a similar vein, many people will come into college attempting to devote their time to everything under the sun. While that is wonderful in its own right, it is okay to take time to adjust, to intentionally devote your time to fewer things. It is also okay to devote your time to things that may seem ‘fruitless’ in terms of your GPA or future career. In fact, my gap year taught me that the most formative personal development occurs outside traditional academic contexts. While class and pre-professional clubs are worth devoting time to, also pursue activities just because they are fun. Go eat cheese with the cheese club, or stargaze with the Astronomy society, or join a beach volleyball club even though you’ve demonstrated no hand-eye coordination in your life. Go work on an orchard, spend your days with horses, get pooped on by one too many birds if that is exciting to you. Because that excitement is going to serve you far more than spending all your time on so-called fruitful, but unexciting endeavors. 

Finally, at the risk of sounding like those memes which say “You’ll know someone took a gap year because they’ll tell you within five minutes of meeting”, if you can, go take a gap year. Explore, have fun, make mistakes. Maybe two years from now, you’ll be sitting in front of your computer saying, “Gosh, I wish I could tell Harini that she was right.” But don’t worry about the last bit, I already know I am.