You should take that gap year

I know you’ve been thinking about it

By Emma Blakley, Delta College Student Submission

I graduated from high school in 2023. Delta is primarily a 2-year college, so you may be wondering why I’m still here, three years later, attending Delta. Shouldn’t I have graduated last year?

I started college straight out of high school. I sort of knew what I wanted to do – I knew what I liked, at least, but that wasn’t enough. 

I knew my strengths and weaknesses. I’ve always excelled in the arts, whether it be photography, writing, designing, I love it all. STEM on the other hand, is a different story. I have never been good at anything in the field – not saying I don’t enjoy STEM, it’s just something that never clicked for me.

I was raised on the idea that whatever you do, money is the most important thing. Liking what you do just happens to be a benefit. I have also been told that I don’t need a degree for what I want to do (photography).

With both in mind, I had decided to venture in the realm of business. I figured since I wanted to eventually own my own business (this is not true now, but at the time it was), why not get a degree in it?

I 100%, whole heartedly, regret my first year at Delta.

At the time, I was paying for classes completely out of pocket. While my first semester was spent being full-time and only gen-eds (that also work for my current degree, journalism), I ended my second semester (part-time) with a term GPA of 1.1, a complete waste of time, and money.

I will never reach a perfect 4.0 GPA because of this, and that is why I think taking a gap year is important. 

Everyone’s thoughts on GPA are different. I never cared in high school, but college was different to me. If I had taken a gap year, I believe I would not have sacrificed my GPA, on top of wasting time and money just “trying things out”.

Of course, there was one huge benefit for going right after high school graduation.

If I had not gone to college right after graduation, I would not have qualified for the Michigan Community College Guarantee (CCG). Without it, I would not be writing this article or graduating in four months. 

I also want to mention, the CCG was established after my first year at Delta. It took effect in fall 2024. 

You can apply for the CCG up to 15 months after you graduate. That’s a gap year, and a semester. Knowing this now, I wish I had taken a gap year to sit down and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. 

If you are a recent graduate and know exactly what you want to do, that is amazing. Not many people know what they are going to spend the rest of their life doing. The sooner you figure that out, the better. 

If you are headstrong on going to college right away, I support you. If you aren’t sure what path is right, I support you. Not everybody’s story is the same. 

I believe that taking a gap year can open doors you may not have even known were there.

Who knows, maybe you’ll go from a term GPA of 1.1 to 4.0 once you find the right fit for you.