my Gap Year
When I took the first leap of leaving my home town in Switzerland, I flew all the way to China to join an international school. I had never thought much of studying abroad since my surroundings had always stayed the same. However, at the United World College in China, I was exposed to new perspectives and cultures through my peers and professors and hence unfolded the possibilities and opportunities I could pursue.
Now that I had experienced living at a United World College, I was determined to make this new lease on life materialize.
Fast-forward to the beginning of my second year at UWC Changshu China.
I was surrounded by the words SAT, Common App and TOEFL.
I did not know what any of them meant. My peers had their college list already finalized and had taken the SAT and ACT twice. Nonetheless, I started to put the pieces together and I quickly hopped onto this train to not fall behind. I was constantly researching while completing my Common App and studying for the ACT exam which was coming at me at full speed. But did I really want all of this? In this desperate attempt to stay up to pace, I was lost in a maze of hundreds of college websites; not knowing how to find the schools which would suit me. However, with the guidance I received from both my counsellor and my friends, I was able to create a list of colleges I was happy about.
I successfully applied and anxiously waited for a response.
Overall, I felt extremely rushed during the whole application process. I did not give equal importance to all required materials and most importantly to my CSS Profile, which did not reflect my financial background accurately. I received insufficient financial support from the colleges I was granted admission to, and so I was eventually forced to decline all my offers. Cautiously, I had applied to a one-year foundation course in Switzerland and received admission. I am now enrolled at the Schule fuer Gestaltung Bern und Biel (School of Design Bern and Biel). Whilst taking this gap year was not my optimum choice, it has taught me things that go beyond the curriculum of this foundation course.
Switzerland’s art schools teach art differently than the International Baccalaureate (IB). In IB Visual Art, skill is based on hard work and time spent on each piece, whereas my current art teachers find skill in exceptional and innovative ideas; keeping traditional drawing talent is secondary. The art course at the Schule fuer Gestaltung, which is simultaneously a foundation course for Swiss Art Universities, focuses mostly on experimentation and the revelation of a personal style. The fundamental skills are not explicitly taught but are expected to be independently learned during that process. This freedom has allowed me to explore my interests and enhance my strengths. However, I see my friends in the U.S.A learning the fundamental rules and skills of art in their first year of Undergraduate Art School. They practice figure drawing, the laws of perspective and get familiar with the elements of a successful composition. The creative exploration aimed towards finding of an own style is introduced later on which is a similar approach the IB has.
To know which method is best could lead to another essay in itself. However, in my opinion, the journey directed
towards the establishment of an artist’s style cannot take place without leading through the process of learning
the fundamental skills first, which is why, I am very grateful to have experienced both.
Often, my mind drifts to my long nights at UWC. Staying up in order to finish my work because I had put it off for too long has happened numerous times.
My head, leaning heavily against my hand, while I stare at a computer screen, desperately trying to concentrate.
This gap year has revealed the source of my bad time management. Through the strong desire of my high school’s faculty to protect the students from anything that could jeopardize their future or the future of the college, we were given very little responsibility and were spoon-fed. For every deadline missed, we were reminded over and over again to submit the work. Students who had missed too many classes were reminded to attend but never faced actual consequences. Our days were planned out for us. Even the extracurricular activities came with a set of rules and regulations to follow. An internet curfew was introduced in hope that students would follow a routinely bed time.
This environment seemingly padded out with foam, only taught us that none of our actions would face consequences and we would never be held responsible for our mistakes - the opposite of what the faculty had intended.
I was only able to realize the importance of having freedom and the importance of learning how to deal with
the responsibilities that come with it, once my gap year had started.
I took the freedom I was now exposed to, to my advantage. The realization of bearing the brunt of my own actions and decisions is a responsibility that helped me understand how to improve my own skills and be successful. Hence, I now attend school and complete assignments to satiate my personal development rather than satisfy my teacher.
However, this change of environment did not only have beneficial sides. Coming back to my hometown after having experienced a lot during my time abroad, confronted me with many personal challenges. During these two years I had spent in China; my personality and character had grown and developed so fast, that for my family and friends it was hard to grasp.
Even though I was happy with the person I had become, I felt like a stranger in my own home.
But even that was hard for them to understand because they were not present during my development.
I continue to struggle with these difficulties today, but have learnt to merge my two lives and personalities into one. I have started to concentrate on the values and personality traits that are most important to me and have integrated them in my life here. Although this proves to be a long and difficult process, I know that I will come out of it as a much more confident individual.
This experience has taught me that it is not only fun, interesting and easy to adapt to a different environment, as I perceived it when adapting to my new home in China. Through having to integrate myself into an environment I feel I do not fit into anymore has taught me to stay true to my personality and values even when my environment changes.
Overall, my gap year has had its ups and downs which I am more than grateful for. Both have helped me grow and develop on a personal as well as on an artistic level.
I have decided to see all of these downs as a learning opportunity for myself rather than a weight that is pushing me down.
