GAP YEARS...lame lame lame or do it again?

So i went on my gap year last September and i got back this August...11months in total.

I have wanted to travel since i started 6th form, i always knew i would go eventually. I decided to get through Uni and everything first because i knew if i took a gap year before i would have struggled to focus on studying for 3 years. I am very glad i made that decision now...
Since i have got back, instead of settling that part of me that was restless..i have ignited the travel bug! I am desperate to go again...having met so many people who have recommended places to see i am dying to experience more!

The problem?? Well naturally the thing that prevents us doing whatever we want £££ and my lack of it! That and at SOME point i am going to have to think about starting a proper career and settling down and doin g something REALISTIC. I know i could go off and be a travel guide for some tour company if i really wanted to go off and see the world..but i want the best of both worlds..to live around my home comforts, family and friends and then travel for a few months here and there..rather than permanently be away from home!

So it got me thinking..what did i get out of my gap year and would i recommend it to other people? If i had the opportunity to go back and change anything would i and was it worth the hard work and saving it took to get there?

Well, i got a lot out of it! i realised my boyfriend was definately not the guy i thought he was, although that was more a realisation once we had returned home..luckily the 11 months we were away together was pretty amazing and mostly argument-free.
I met a lot of amazing people, some who i know i will be in contact with for a long time yet, and others i know i will never ever see again..but all of them made the experience better for me..influenced the way i saw other countries and people and the opinions i formed of them.

Seeing other countries and experiencing other cultures was fantastic, you learn a lot about yourself..what you value and how lucky you are compared to some people that you meet along the way. It humbles you a lot of the time, seeing some of the lifestyles and situations people have to cope with. And being lucky enough to belong to a society that has enabled me to travel on such a trip and spend my money on that kind of thing.

I got to do some fantastic activities, i swam with wild dolphins in NZ, climbed Sydney harbour bridge, saw ballet at the Opera House, climbed a glacier, did a skydive, went up the CN Tower, Saw a show on broadway, went up the 'Rocky' steps, saw the White House, Went to Angkor Wat the Cu Chi Tunnels saw some stunning scenery...I also got a wonderful sun tan!!!!! haha.


But..was it the BEST thing i ever did or the WORST?

I have returned to having no money, no proper job and no idea of what kind of job i even want, i was overweight, i recently became single, i was unhappy at being back in British weather. The novelty of seeing friends and family soon wore off although at first it was fantastic. I am unsettled because all i want to do is go travelling again..and i have no money to do that which is depressing, no job that pays well enough to save some..but because of the way i'm feeling i am not doing job applications justice and therefore am unlikely to find a well-paid job anytime soon.
PLUS there is that risk that if i do find a decent job that pays pretty well i'll get stuck in it because i like having money..and then the chances of going on another trip are pretty much 0!! It's almost like taking a step backwards..having to go right back to basics and think about where i'm heading all over again.

I know i know, i should be grateful i got to go..and i really really am! All i am saying is if people are considering going on a trip, no matter how short or long the trip may be then they should be prepared for all the bad feelings that happen when you have to come crashing back down to live in the real world! it is worth it for sure, but it takes much more strength and determination to pick yourself up and get stuck into 'normality' than it does to get on a plane with a prospect of 11 months away from home!