A 2016 high school grad Aidan Campbell will opt to spend the next year (her “Adventure Gap Year”) not at college but instead traveling, backpacking, and adventuring around the planet.
My Adventure Gap Year
Like most recent high school graduates, I’ve spent this past month packing. However, while others pack boxes marked for college, I’m stuffing a backpack with hiking boots, trekking poles, foul weather gear, and whatever else I might need for the next year.
This fall, I won’t migrate to a college campus. Instead, I will begin an adventure gap year traveling, volunteering, and working odd jobs across Europe, Central America, South America, and anywhere else I can put my boots on the ground.
Bio: Aidan Campbell (age 18)
About Aidan Campbell: A June 2016 graduate of the Madison Country Day School (Wis.), Campbell is a student, athlete, and avid outdoorswoman. She has backpacked and canoed across Arctic Alaska and has been featured on NPR, WPR, and Outside Magazine Radio discussing her adventures. You can read her travel blog at grittygal.com.
A GAP YEAR IS THE PHRASE coined for deferring college for a year after high school. Instead of flowing from one routine to the next, plans are placed on hold in hopes of satisfying the sensation of wanderlust (or some other personal passion or altruistic goal).
I will pay for the gap year with the money I saved from summer jobs throughout high school and money I received for graduation. Right now, I have around $7,000 saved up, and hope to earn more while in Spain, my first stop.
Why Take a Gap Year?
Gap Year Tips
1. You Can Pursue Your Passion
2. You’ll Have Novel Experiences
3. You’ll Learn What Matters Most
4. You’ll Avoid Burn Out
