Why I regret not taking a post-university 'gap yah'

When I was 18, it never occurred to me to take a "gap yah". The thought of working in my local supermarket for six months to save money before partying around the world just didn't appeal to me. I was of the opinion that I could get my partying out of my system at university. I didn't need to hop on a plane to have a good time.

But, by the time I graduated from university, I could see that I had been wrong. Taking time out wasn't just about going to endless parties. I had used my summers traveling South America, even living in Chile interning for a newspaper for a while, and I knew the life-changing benefits of taking some time out. My stress levels disappeared, I became more independent than I'd imagined, I learned Spanish and I figured out how to make a life for myself in a country where I knew no one. I was a total convert to the "gap yah" life.

But I still didn't take time out after I graduated. All of my peers were signed up to grad schemes, further studying or promising internships. They were all so desperate to "get onto the career ladder" amid an uncertain economic climate that I felt an urgent need to join them.