My gap year experience:
I chose to take my first gap year (pre-Penn) because an incredible opportunity came up - the chance to live and study in Beijing for a year fully-funded through National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) - and I chose to seize that opportunity. Doing that once expanded my perspective on what was possible - and what you could make possible, so when COVID seemed like it would disrupt my education, I chose to create my own opportunities and craft a year of working, studying, researching, and traveling in Taipei and Singapore - which ended up being the experience of a lifetime and one of the best decisions I have made as of yet.
Blog: https://worldtbdiscovered.wordpress.com/
Highlights from my gap year:
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Becoming instant friends with my work exchange mates at a beach hostel
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Biking the entire perimeter of Orchid Island/Lanyu in a day
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Hiking with strangers in the Taroko Gorge national park
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Visiting the island of Pulau Ubin
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Finding a close ex-pat student community in Taipei
