How To Take a Gap Year

How To! with Mike Pesca

Peach Fish Projects

How To, Education

4.3 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2024

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Leo is a high-achieving high school senior on the cusp of graduation. Growing up in a rigorous school environment he faced endless pressure to follow the expected track of attending an elite university and eventually securing a good job. Yet, Leo feels slightly unfulfilled and is curious what an alternative path might look like. On this episode of How To!, Carvell Wallace is joined by Abby Falik, founder of the The Flight School, and organization dedicate to helping students and parents rethink and reshape their education. Abby shares her insights and experience guiding students through gap years so they find their own way.

If you liked this episode check out: "How To Parent Less"

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

How To's executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson and Kevin Bendis.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi everyone, I'm Susie Weiss, and I've noticed there's just simply not enough podcasts in the world. So I'm launching my own. Let's go. Let's go, baby. Second Thought is a weekly show about pop culture. The stuff everyone's been binging, arguing about, obsessing over. Here's the thing about heated rivalry. I mean, even the most devoted swifties, I think we can agree, not our best work. We'll be hosting thoughtful conversations with culture's most important figures. Talk about genius.
0:22.6	Talk about generational talent.
0:23.7	Coming to headphones near you on can agree not our best work. We'll be hosting thoughtful conversations with culture's most important figures.
0:21.8	Talk about genius.
0:22.6	Talk about generational talent.
0:23.7	Coming to headphones near you on April 17th with a first guest you won't want to miss.
0:27.8	Available wherever you get your podcasts.
0:30.2	I think my biggest anxiety about taking gap here was sort of just like, would it be a good use of my year? Would I feel
0:39.9	like bored to no end or would I get as much out of it as I would from a year of college?
0:52.3	Welcome to how to. I'm Carvel Wallace. You know, when I was about 21 years old and in college,
1:00.5	I went overseas to work for a theater company in the summer. And when I got back to New York in the fall,
1:05.7	it was time to register for classes in my senior year. But I just didn't. It wasn't like I had a plan. I just kind of
1:13.6	sat in my apartment as the deadline for registration came and went. I ended up spending a year
1:19.2	working two jobs, one is a bike messenger, one is a fundraiser for a social justice organization,
1:24.7	and just eeked out a living in New York. It was a wild time, weird and
1:29.5	exhausting. I had bike accidents. I got hit by taxis. I showed up to work at 6 a.m. I worked
1:35.1	14-hour days sometimes. When it was all over, there was really one main thing I had learned.
1:41.3	Life out here is hard. I learned that work is real and college was actually a
1:47.0	privilege and an opportunity. And if I didn't want to spend the rest of my life bleeding on
1:51.1	the pavement in Midtown Manhattan, I'd better take advantage of my education. But it's also hard to
1:57.5	know that sometimes until you go through it. When that was me, it aged 21.
2:02.3	So why do we ask 18-year-olds to know what they want to do with their life when the whole
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Peach Fish Projects, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Peach Fish Projects and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.