By Leah

It’s hard to believe how quickly this year has come to an end! It seems like only yesterday I was completing my application for the gap year program, and suddenly I am preparing to attend university. It would be a lie to say that I am not worried about the fall. With so much uncertainty, it is hard not to be. I have been juggling questions regarding whether or not it is a safe or appropriate time to move towards some form of normalcy. Should I take a risk and attend school on-campus, or play it safe and take classes online? As much as I want to meet everyone in-person, and immerse myself into the Duke community, I remain quite cautious, due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in North Carolina. It might just be too early to tell. While I have been feeling anxious, due to the uncertainty of our circumstances, I do not let them get the best of me. If my gap year taught me anything, it was how to deal with uncertainty! As our summer progresses, and we move towards the upcoming school year, I encourage everyone to remain positive and keep an open mind. While this year has been quite crazy, I am certain that some amazing things are bound to happen.

While my time with you all has come to an end, I still have a bit more planned before university begins. Starting next week, I will be participating in Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Pre-Professional Virtual Summer Intensive. I am beyond excited! With a full month of learning the company’s works, choreographed by the likes of Crystal Pite and Peter Chu, I cannot wait to see how I grow. Additionally, I will continue working on choreography for a concept video I have been planning for the past month. From formulating a message to creating choreography to learning how to use editing applications, it has been quite a difficult yet rewarding task. I cannot wait to share my message with the world and see how the final product turns out!

As this is my last social media post on this account, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has followed the journeys of the 2019-2020 Duke Gap Year Program cohort. If you have been considering taking a gap year, I hope we inspired your plans! It was quite special sharing my experiences with you all and I cannot wait to see what is in store for this account and the upcoming cohort of gap year students!