| The Gap |
| |
Phillip Hong
Originally written in August, 2010. |
| |
|
I'm about to end a relatively wild phase in my life, and the people around me
don't seem to understand the importance of the day after Labour Day.
|
| |
|
You see, that's when I walk out the front door of my home as a free
twenty-something for the last time and into two years of continuous education
in college, followed by what looks like the rest of my life through years of
backbreaking work.
|
| |
|
Must I make this such a unique issue when thousands of young adults follow the
same path each and every year? I might be making a mountain out of a molehill
for all I know.
|
| |
|
I look back at the past four years of my life as a constant learning experience.
High school was eased out and I was given the chance to learn through my hands
and eyes - went travelling often, and worked while I was at home. Some take a
few months, maybe a year off, but it seemed for a while that I was comfortable
enough to be legally lazy during this point in life.
|
| |
|
I guess I haven't given any closure either. I've never felt like I officially
graduated from secondary studies unitl I received my college acceptance letter
nearly three and a half years later. That was the excuse to act like a buffoon
who simply didn't care about making a living when the economy was really in
trouble, and when former classmates were in glasses, looking away at dictionaries
and operandi.
|
| |
|
But I loved pummeling my abnormally large belly and crying out with funny noises.
I felt like I spent time for the sake of personal development.
|
| |
|
From working in lousy jobs in retail to seeing the Sydney Opera House, others
were honestly quite envious over the lifestyle I led. And I felt guilty for
leading it.
|
| |
|
This is the point in anyone's life to start working hard, to prove their own
worth. While everyone else was nervous about exams and GPA averages, I was
leisurely walking through webpage code.
|
| |
|
When does a person on a gap year or period become a mooch on their parents? When
does having time off become time spent without being worthwhile?
|
| |
|
I've had my ups and downs through the weeks, felt good about discovering a new
side of life, while analysing and overanalysing my usefulness as a human while
I acted like a fool, while here and abroad.
|
| |
|
This writing does drone on. I'll admit that.
|
| |
|
The latter guilt I felt turned into a journey that will really begin as school
starts. Now, I feel like I'm playing a game of catch up as my former classmates
embark on their careers. This time last year, I was studying hard and taking
courses to refine my language in preparation for what is coming up.
|
| |
|
Life has been worth living for me until now, and I am feeling unfamiliar forms
of anxiety and nervousness, butterflies that haven't flown since I walked the
hallways of high school, the one up near the lake.
|
| |
|
Let it fly, butterfly, and let my slippery remarks serve as a reminder of some
sort or another. What a way to end an article.
|
| |
|
Phillip Hong, a resident within suburban Toronto, is a constant tourist. Check
out the interesting experiences of his journeys on The Travelling
Briefcase. |
|
