Taking a year to fill the gap

Dissecting the time taken to find clarity
Dissecting the time taken to find clarity
Jemimah Ndebele
With the final year of high school comes many trials and choices beyond the national examination learners have to sit for at the end of the year.

It leaves many feeling as though their lives are imbued with a sense of uncertainty and they are riddled with a range of external pressures that make them feel as though the lack of a definite career path leaves a gargantuan gap in their lives, more specifically in their futures.

This is resulted in the coining of the term ‘gap year’, a set period of time after the completion of high school that learners use to discover themselves and normally to pursue non-academic ventures in the hopes of filling the gap of obscurity when it comes to their future careers.

These ventures range from leaving to travel across the seven seas to simply going on a sabbatical to a relative’s farm for a couple of months, seeing as clarity presents itself differently to everyone in search for it.

For some, like 20-year-old soccer enthusiast Tihaano Isaacs, it meant focusing on his main source of joy - a family-established football team and its management.

“I took a gap year mainly because I was still uncertain about what I wanted to do. I felt like I needed time to clear my mind. In addition to that, my mental well-being was not at its best and I felt like I needed to take the time to work on getting better,” the 20-year-old explained.

He added that the time he took and invested into the football club resulted in non-academic accolades, not just for him but for his team as well. Isaacs is now the youngest team manager in Namibian football history.

This brings the cost of uncertainty on the futures and mindsets of the youth into question as many have often felt that ‘academics maketh the man’, and without the definiteness thereof - coupled with the external pressure of ‘having it all figured out’ by the end of one’s high school journey - individuals forget that there lies potential in them that supersedes academic expectations imposed on them by themselves and/or others.

The most common venture that comes to the minds of young people when bringing up the possibility of a gap year is becoming an au pair. Au pairing includes the much-coveted experiences young people wish to acquire. The ability to make money while travelling the world is appealing to most, hence the popularity of the venture. Agencies such as Carla’s Au Pairs has aided in making that dream a reality for many.

“There are certain programme costs involved, but the au pair programme is probably one of the most affordable ‘work abroad’ programmes out there. Extra costs will include applying for your passport, police clearance and international driver’s permit.

“Visa costs and programme fees also need to be considered. This will be different for each programme. Some countries like America include the flight costs, which is amazing.

“Overall, it’s a very affordable and safe way to live and work overseas for a year or two,” explained founder and former au pair Carla Verster, who established the agency that now has branches in both Namibia and South Africa.

The unorthodox break has long been stigmatised and some parents even claim that it encourages a perpetual laziness resulting in these young adults never going to university. Counter to this claim, educators such life skills teacher Jessica Ulrich say gap years are good, provided that they are valuable to the person taking them.

“A lot of learners who have no idea what they want to do with their lives opt for gap years by doing au pair somewhere in the world. While such gap years are a good way to waste some time until one feels more decisive about their future, learners who opt for this kind of gap year aren't learning anything of value.

“They usually spend the money they earn during this time and walk away with no tangible skills whatsoever. There are, however, gap year programmes that add value. Some work-and-travel deals allow you to see the world, get to know different cultures while working in different industries and professions. This, in my opinion, is of more value to the student, since you get a broader exposure to different types of work environment, which may in turn help you with your future career choices,” she said.

The range of programmes to facilitate in the search for clarity vary as others such Tamaryn Witbooi joined the Youth With a Mission Discipleship Training School (YWAM DTS) programme last year for six months and it allowed her work on herself and her spirituality before committing to her studies.

“Through the DTS programme, you get three months to work on yourself and your relationship at any of YWAM’s international branches. I completed mine in the Western Cape before leaving for another three after that to do missionary work in Mozambique and Jeffreys Bay in South Africa. I have since felt more confident and I have learnt a lot about healing from past traumas and walking away from it light-heartedly,” said Witbooi, who has since decided on pursuing a career in IT.

Ultimately, the much sought-after clarity through a year of non-academic exposure and experience cannot easily be arbitrated into compartments of right or wrong as its value remains subject to the seeker.