The weight of realizing how much help the world needs can feel very heavy. There’s no denying that.
Explore all things gap year through stories and anecdotes by gappers, families and experts. Fun to listen to but also jam-packed with tips and tricks for making the most of your gap year. No matter who you are or where you are on your gap year journey, you should be listening to the Gap Year Podcast! Although it is produced for Canadians, the content is universal.
Episodes
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
There is so much going on right now that it can feel overwhelming.
But it’s also inspiring. People across the world are coming together to march. More people are putting on masks when in public. Donations are pouring in from coast to coast for different causes. People are inspired to do better, to make things better, because of what they are hearing and listening to. People are finding a purpose.
By finding a purpose throughout everything going on, it can help you feel more fulfilled and more in control of what’s going on as you contribute. You may not see change overnight, but you are contributing.
One way to channel your purpose is to commit to a singular project. A passion project is a purposeful project that will allow you to feel fulfilled by making a contribution to something.
But with so much happening, how do you pick one area to focus? Nobody expects you to do everything, so this is a great way to get you focused. If you’re not sure where to start, here are four steps to implementing a passion project.
Wednesday May 27, 2020
Wednesday May 27, 2020
With the deadline for accepting post-secondary admissions getting closer, families are becoming more stressed about what the right decision is for fall 2020. In this episode I share the red flags that pop up in conversations with families that show me that a gap year is NOT the right step for them. Take a listen as it might help get some clarity for your family’s decision.
Tuesday May 05, 2020
Tuesday May 05, 2020
Story Time: Max Brauch started back at Concordia University in the fall of 2020 after his gap year that was built on getting experience, earning money, networking and building relationships and a bit of travel. He speaks about how he got clarity for his gap year and his future, the people he met along the way and a few tips and tricks on making it a purposeful year.
Spring 2020 BONUS: We are offering free Explore, Dream & Design Your Gap Year workshops. Come out to learn what you should be considering when planning a gap year to remember – even in COVID-times!
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Right now families are coming closer to the deadline for making post-secondary decisions but most are lacking critical information as to what the post-secondary experience will actually be. Yes, there will be classes and profs and learning but will it be on campus? On line? Will there be residence? There are many unknown factors that will significantly contribute to your university experience. So how can we make decisions without the information? We need to rely on our values, because unlike the situation, they will likely not change.
Tuesday Apr 21, 2020
Tuesday Apr 21, 2020
My heart goes out to all of the 2020 graduating classes. These are my people. This is who I serve on a good day – folks who don’t know what the best steps forward are, students who want more time to figure things out, or people who feel they need a unique experience before diving into post-secondary. With the way things are trending within education and COVID-19, my prediction is that many people who were part of the 2020 graduating class will be taking gap years, but for a whole new set of reasons.
While I don’t have a crystal ball to see how everything will play out in the future, I am aware of how families are struggling with the loss of senior year right now. I know how hard it can be to find the right way to support your graduate, so I’ve put together five tips to help you get your kid through this challenging time.
Wednesday Apr 08, 2020
Wednesday Apr 08, 2020
Because of COVID-19, everybody is experiencing some level of trauma. It might sound scary – trauma is a big word, and something we don’t often talk about. But with everything that’s happening right now, it’s important to discuss it and how it may impact our loved ones. Today we chatted with Zipporah “Zippy” Doiron, a counselor, who shared tips on feeling creative, capable and connected from a therapist to put our best mental health practices to work during this time.
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
Tim Tamashiro’s Ikigai is “to delight” – it is the reason he gets out of bed every morning and he wants you to live a life knowing your own Ikigai. But what is an Ikigai? Our next podcast guest will tell you all about it!
Ikigai is an ancient philosophy from Okinawa, Japan. It encourages all people to live your "life's worth" – studies show that the pillars of Ikigai support overall wellbeing. Each person has an Ikigai that, once understood, will enhance daily life and personal fulfillment.
Wednesday Mar 25, 2020
Wednesday Mar 25, 2020
James spent his gap year working in hospitality and retail while taking the time to shift his focus into finding a pathway forward. He shares how his high school self wasn’t serious about academics and how his gap year helped him to mature, made him more ready for a college education.
He doesn’t have everything figured out – his gap year wasn’t a silver bullet. However, he learned how to move himself forward, to value education and ruled out some career pathways. Take a listen.
Tuesday Mar 17, 2020
Tuesday Mar 17, 2020
Gap Years aren’t all about travel. Despite what Instagram and media coverage of a-list celebrities and royalty might tell you, most Canadians don’t spend their entire gap year traveling. They will usually spend between 2 weeks and 3 months traveling. If we use an average of 5 weeks over the course of a 62 week gap year (beginning of July to end of August the following year), that makes up only 8% of the gap year! What do you do with the other time? What do you do if you can’t or don’t want to travel?
It is very important to know that if you can’t travel, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a gap year. I can almost guarantee that there was more than simply the idea of travel that made you consider taking a gap year. Don’t forget those reasons - do you need to get more clarity on direction? Need to make money? Need to recharge your battery? Want to learn more about how the real world works? ALL of this can be done without traveling and this blog shares some ideas on how to plan a travel-free gap year.
If you want some guidance on this process, you can book a free 30-minute gap year discovery call with me!
Tuesday Mar 17, 2020
Tuesday Mar 17, 2020
Looking forward to an experience for a long time builds up such great excitement and anticipation! You’ve worked to earn enough money to pay for it, built up the confidence to leave home for another country, and developed skills to excel at life outside of your hometown all for these changes to your plan to come out of nowhere.
That is a huge reason as to why this change in plans is so devastating. This blog and Gap Year Podcast episode are here to help you work through the feelings that come up and provide some advice on how to move through the negative emotions into more optimistic actions.
We hope you find this helpful in a time of such emotion, stress and global uncertainty.