Things I've Learnt In My Gap Year... So Far

I don't think I've mentioned it on my blog yet (note the sarcasm) but I'm currently on my gap year. Since it's now January, I'm a little off half way through my gap year, and I've learnt many lessons already. So I thought I'd do a little reflection post and tell you what my life lessons are, just in case you're interested.

The first thing I've learnt is that it's OK not to have a fully thought out plan. The idea of having a gap year was something that kinda, sorta, really, terrified me because I was just diving into the pit of the unknown. But to be honest, I'm feeling rather settled and excited with my basic plan of the year; get a job (done), get into university (done) and make plans to travel (doing that currently). And I'm thoroughly loving the spontaneity that the last few months have brought to my life.

The second thing I learnt is that Psychology was not the subject that I was destined to take at degree level. Although I adored the subject at A Level and I truly have a deep interest in it, my real passion is media and I just want to learn more about that subject. The only thing I can truly picture myself studying is media, and I'm glad I had my gap year to clear my head about what I wanted to study. And now I'm also so insanely excited for university, after seeing how much all my friends have been enjoying it. 

The third thing I learnt is that I'm capable of more than I knew. Cheesy I know! But it's true; I never in a million years thought I'd get the job on the day of my first ever interview, but I did. I was so incredibly nervous on my first day of working and interacting with the public and my coworkers, but it's something that I actually rather enjoy. My confidence is building on the daily, and I 100% put it down to the experiences I'm having in my gap year. 

My next life lesson is that the general public can be well annoying, and if you work in retail you know what I'm talking about. Don't get me wrong, most customers are sweet, but you do get the odd gem come into the shop. My favourite thing is when the customers explain to you, the shop worker, how your shop's policies work. How helpful! Or when someone asks if you can find a t-shirt they'd recently seen, and the only description of its appearance that they will give you is "it was really nice... you know?"

And the last life lesson that I'll be talking about today is money. I've truly learned how to budget my salary, and not blow all my earnings on night outs and makeup. Well, at least I'm getting better at not spending all my money on that. I'm now looking at what I spend in hours I work. And I think to myself, "is that makeup item really worth it, I mean I'll have to work 3 hours of my life for that!"

So that is what I've learned thus far, and I hope you've found it somewhat relatable. The song of the day is Womanizer by Britney Spears, because that absolute anthem just popped up on my playlist. Do you have any life lessons that you've recently learnt, that you'd like to share in the comments?

Izzy K xxx