With only one month left until I wear my cap and gown, I’m focused on one thing: post-graduation plans. My senior friends are either finishing up last-minute graduate school applications and finding apartments nearby or freaking out about their post-graduation plans. When I see friends and classmates tearing out their hair and applying for jobs during class, I have to remember it’s okay to not know what you want to do after graduation. It’s essential that we reflect and take our time before truly starting to become an independent adult. Taking off time could be traveling the world, living at home or taking a crack at becoming a Twitch streamer. Whatever you choose to do, taking time away from a school environment can help you discover your passions. 

Seeing everyone ready to jump into the next thing — including my friends and classmates who had initial doubts about their post-grad plans — was very nerve-racking as a senior. It suddenly felt like I was expected to have a concrete plan and be ready to send out dozens of applications for grad school or jobs. 

I have pretty much been questioning my criminal justice major since I applied to college. It’s not that I don’t like what I’m studying. I am studying criminal justice because I thought I wanted to become a lawyer, but other avenues kept piquing my interest — everything from graphic design to public health, to computer science and more. It’s hard to admit this, but I still feel this way. It took a lot of self-reflection for me to realize that I did not want to jump from one school to another. I’m still not sure if I want to become a lawyer or not, which is why I need time to research certain educational programs and discover new hobbies that could inspire a future career. I could suddenly find a love for cities and buildings and decide to go to school for architecture. I don’t want to realize these passions too late when I’m too deep into a career to drop everything and pivot to something else. 

When I told my parents in February I wanted to take a year off to decide what to do next, they were a bit confused. They both went straight to graduate school after completing their bachelor’s degrees, and in their eyes, it seemed to be the next step for me — or the next step for many GW students. My parents knew about my changing interests beforehand, but I personally don’t think something like a gap year was on their minds for me. They were supportive and agreed that I do not have to rush into a degree that I’m not completely sure that I want to pursue.

I always hear about people finalizing their post-undergraduate plans as soon as they sign their college acceptance letter and seldom questioning them after. But does everyone have to fit that mold? No. Not everyone walks the same path, and this needs to be acknowledged by college students and society at-large. 

It’s also perfectly acceptable to take a short break before launching into the real world. Anything from just a couple of months to a couple of years could be necessary for someone to collect their bearings. After four years of college, it is impossible not to be burnt out. Senioritis is a thing for a reason. 

As of right now, I only know what college is — but what is the real world going to look like? Needing some time off is okay, and it doesn’t only have to last the length of a summer. Using the summer to relax is fine and something that I think should be encouraged. But it doesn’t just have to be for three months off until school starts again. It’s fine to need extra time. Relaxing could mean lounging by the pool, picking up a low-stress job or getting on a plane to a dream vacation. It’s pretty common to take a gap year between undergrad and graduate school, with 73 percent of 2023 college graduates taking a year off before going to medical school. Also, about 65 percent of those enrolled in law school as of 2024 took a gap year before applying. 

Taking a gap year or simply taking it slow and not diving into grad school or jobs would allow me to truly figure out what I want to do. I would actually have time to think about it without the pressure of constant papers and readings. I wouldn’t know if I actually wanted to go into a different educational direction than the one I’m currently in, like law school. People say that school is for discovering your passions, but it doesn’t just have to be limited to college. That time between getting your bachelor’s and pursuing your master’s can help you discover your passions.

Taking a time off gives you more time to reflect without feeling like you don’t have enough time to step back. Everything is go-go-go. Thirteen straight years of K-12 education with another straight four is seventeen. That is a very significant amount of time just being in school. Some people don’t even have the same career field for seventeen years. Not everything has to be back-to-back, and you deserve a decent break from the almost two decades of grinding. 

As the expression goes, “the world is my oyster.” For my friends who have their graduate applications locked in, anxiously awaiting their letters, counting down the minutes until the phone rings or something else entirely, I wish them the best of luck. For my fellow graduates also unsure of their journey, I hope you can discover something that inspires you. To the underclassmen reading this, just know that you don’t have to rush into something as soon as you walk across the stage.