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Student Blogs

September 2, 2020

Spontaneous Summer

By: Admin

By Sami As my virtual high school experience came to a close in mid-May, I was preparing myself for what I thought would be the most uneventful summer of my life. Uncertainties regarding my gap year plans were all I had to think about as canceled travel plans and a lack of work opportunities left […]

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Ready to Leap

By: Admin

By Kayla The past six months have both raced and crawled by at the same time. Finishing senior year of high school and the last year at my ballet studio from home was unexpected, but I’m grateful to have spent more time with my family. It’s bittersweet to leave places I’ve called home, but I’m ready to start the next chapter in my life.  This summer brought […]

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September 1, 2020

Taking to the Mountains

By: Admin

By Matthew Throughout this month, while I have been searching for concrete plans for the upcoming semester and thinking about what I want out of this year, I have taken to the mountains. Connectivity to nature has been a foundational pillar to my upbringing in Aspen Colorado. It has been preached and practiced by everyone […]

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The Beginning

By: Admin

By Shun Stepping off the plane and being enveloped by the hot humid air felt different from the times in the past. There were no thoughts of rushing to the convenience store or visiting all my friends, eating home-cooked meals, or the inevitable farewell only a few days away. Rather, I was relaxed and slightly nervous, […]

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August 30, 2020

A Year of Firsts

By: Admin

Hi everyone! First of all, I’d like to introduce myself and explain a little about what I will be doing this year. My name is Sara, and I’m from Lexington, South Carolina. This fall, I’ll be staying at home to take online audited classes, hopefully get a job, and volunteer with an animal rescue and sanctuary. […]

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My Gap Year Plans and the PCT

By: Admin

By Ray Hello friends,   My name is Ray, and this is both my first blog with the Duke Gap Year, as well as my first ever blog.    I should probably introduce myself; I live in the Bay Area (Marin County). In high school, I spent a lot of my time playing for the football […]

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August 29, 2020

Why I Took A Gap Year

By: Admin

By Siddharth Having been born and raised in India, the notion of a gap year has always been fairly restricted to a specific segment of students – those who are unable to perform up to their expectations in the cutthroat entrance tests to the most prestigious universities in the country. If one wasn’t spending their […]

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August 24, 2020

Summer – The First Two Months

By: Admin

By Lukas I had been considering a gap year for some time before the end of senior year, but nothing had catalyzed my desire to take the year to focus on myself as the pandemic did. I’m creating and re-imagining ways of bettering myself to become more mentally prepared in the fall of 2021. Every day, […]

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Deciding to Take a Gap Year

By: Admin

By Hannah I clearly remember sitting at my brother’s high school graduation three years ago and thinking to myself, “I’m going to take a gap year.” I had never really heard the term until that year, but as soon as I saw his peers thinking about taking one, and some ultimately choosing to do so, […]

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Embracing Unpredictability

By: Admin

By Valerie 4.5E14, 1.2E2, 94, 59…  I sat stock-still with my body contorted in an awkward position, the tingling and prickling of pins and needles in my limbs hardly registering as I fixated my gaze on the screen with intense, sober concentration, for fear that everything would go awry upon the slightest falter.  …32, 1.8, 0.04, 0.0015…  […]

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