A Gap Year Experience-Profile Interview
Everyone will meet a fork in his or her road at least once in a lifetime and if you take a leaf out of one of Robert Frost’s most famous poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’, that may well ‘[make] all the difference’. Young and adventurous Ms. Jessica Lian can testify to that as she made one of the best decisions in her life 4 years ago and never looked back since. 4 years ago, the 22-year old was fresh and out of her college, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), and instead of following the norm of going straight to university after college, she took a 3-year long break to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. She left her family and friends behind to embark on her culinary dream, alone, at Le Cordon Bleu in France.
“I had no intention of enrolling in a university then because I could not see myself in any of the courses there. I was quite sure becoming a chef was what I really wanted for myself,” admitted the bubbly Jessica when asked on what made her decide to take a gap year at that point of time.
Jessica’s close friend, Annabelle, said,” When Jessica first told me she had no intentions of going to university, I was shocked. I mean, studies come first in Singapore. Apparently she had a different view which I was proud of as her a friend for having the guts to pursue her passion.”
In the end, what started as a gap year became a 3-year long break of exciting experience for this adventure-seeking teen. During this period of time, Jessica travelled to many places in Europe such as Spain, Italy, Sweden, and Dublin other than France.
“I love the weather over there and the amount of freedom I am able to enjoy that comes with travelling alone. People were nice and friendly. I think that was one of the reasons I did not feel homesick at all!” chuckled Jessica.
Despite all these, like any tourist in a foreign country, Jessica had to grapple with the woes of picking up a new language.
“My main difficulty faced was learning French. It was not easy in the first few months as
“I had no intention of enrolling in a university then because I could not see myself in any of the courses there. I was quite sure becoming a chef was what I really wanted for myself,” admitted the bubbly Jessica when asked on what made her decide to take a gap year at that point of time.
Jessica’s close friend, Annabelle, said,” When Jessica first told me she had no intentions of going to university, I was shocked. I mean, studies come first in Singapore. Apparently she had a different view which I was proud of as her a friend for having the guts to pursue her passion.”
In the end, what started as a gap year became a 3-year long break of exciting experience for this adventure-seeking teen. During this period of time, Jessica travelled to many places in Europe such as Spain, Italy, Sweden, and Dublin other than France.
“I love the weather over there and the amount of freedom I am able to enjoy that comes with travelling alone. People were nice and friendly. I think that was one of the reasons I did not feel homesick at all!” chuckled Jessica.
Despite all these, like any tourist in a foreign country, Jessica had to grapple with the woes of picking up a new language.
“My main difficulty faced was learning French. It was not easy in the first few months as