Apologies to all the parents who might think a year off is a waste of time,especially the ones who forked out tens of thousands of dollars on an education – I’m sure the last thing you want is to see your 13-year investment visit an ashram in India or dig holes in Cambodia. Hear me out – the commerce degree can wait. In the scheme of things,a year’s break will be worth so much more than enrolling in a course they’re just not that into.
Which is exactly what I did. I got into accounting when I left school. I started it,I hated it,I quit it. My debits never equalled credits and after a semester of almost failing and a lot of cheating (it was very easy to do in 2002),I decided,much to my parents’ concern,to pause university education and take eight months off because I had some growing up to do.
I worked two jobs,saved up some cash,bought a flight to the United States,arrived with less than $US400 ($620) and a very convincing fake ID. A friend got me a job in a restaurant at the top of a mountain in Colorado where I served plate-sized steaks,bloody Marys and feigned an interest in Steve Irwin at every table I waited on. “Wow,you’re an Aussie? We love Steve Irwin!” … “Me too!” … now tip me.
I learnt to snowboard (a great life skill),got wildly drunk most nights (not a great life skill),made enough money in tips to occasionally bail friends out of jail,travel around the country and experience a couple of full-moon parties on the way home. By the time I arrived back in Australia,I was more focused than before and switched university courses to something I kind-of enjoyed.
But aren’t you a comedian? Yes,I changed careers in my late 30s. I’m all for the sabbatical,too,which is basically a gap year but for when you have a mid-life crisis.
Arguably,the high-schoolers graduating now are the most in-touch generation to ever leave school. They grew up with so much internet (we had to make do with MSN messenger and Napster). They’ve just been through a pandemic,and they’re very open about their feelings … maybe a little too much.