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My Life Trajectory

My road to taking a gap year has been a long and interesting one. I recently graduated from a private high school in Atherton, California where gap years were always presented as “Backpacking across Europe”; although gap years looked fun and exciting, I had yet to hear a story that justified putting college on hold for a year. It wasn’t until December of 2011, completely by chance, that I decided I needed to rethink the trajectory of my life.

I applied early decision to the college of my dreams and I got in, which I was very excited about. Naturally, I immediately joined the Facebook group to meet some of the people I would be spending the next four years with.  I was scrolling through the posts on the group’s page, when I came across a post by this student who had deferred his enrollment the previous year to go to Brazil with a program called Global Citizen Year. His story seemed so unique compared to the ones I had been exposed to at school that I asked him to tell me more about his experience and the program he was a part of. After hearing about his experience and doing some of my own research, I decided that taking a gap year with Global Citizen Year was a worthwhile endeavor.

To be more direct, I decided to take a gap year because I needed the break. I plan to major in international relations when I go to college, so I am taking this time to explore my interests within that field (and hopefully find something I’m truly passionate about along the way). But what has truly pushed me to take a gap year is that I’m too worn out from the college application process to go to college right now. After being accepted to the school of my dreams, I had to withdraw my admission because I could not afford to go there. However, I was able to apply other places, and I am very happy about the college that I will attend in 2013.  Although it was a struggle, I am thankful to have gone through the process the way I did; if I had not applied early to college, who knows if I would have ever seen the post that made taking a year off seem like a worthwhile endeavor. I am very grateful that all the events up till now have led me to embarking on what will be a life changing experience.

Joshua Reason

About Joshua Reason


Joshua's involvement with the Peninsula Bridge Summer Program has cultivated his interest in both domestic and foreign education. His exposure to global issues throughout high school has left him eager to practice service work in an international setting. He hopes that his Global Citizen Year will shape the rest of his life toward a more globally focused purpose. Some of his favorite things include volleyball, food, and languages.

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