If I could go back and speak to my 18-year-old self, standing outside school after my last A-Level, I wouldn’t tell myself what career to choose or what Uni to apply to, I’d simply say this:
“Don’t rush. You have more time than you think.”
At 18, it feels like everyone has their life figured out. I was fortunate enough to grow up without social media but I imagine now all your friends are posting photos of university offers and teachers are no doubt asking what you’re doing next, whilst your parents are probably excited and understandably nervous about your future.
So you do what most people do, you follow the crowd, which is exactly what I did and for me was a waste of time.
The Safe Route Isn’t Always the Right Route
I went straight into the next chapter because it felt like that’s what was expected of me. School. University. Job. It was the encouraged path that everyone talked about but no one ever stopped to ask whether it was the path I actually wanted.
Before I knew it I was living in a weird University accommodation, honing my pint downing skills, skipping lectures because I wasn’t actually interested or good at the degree I’d felt obliged to pursue, then came a career and I found myself in Soho House wearing Kurt Geiger shoes and an Alexander McQueen blazer dreaming of waves and adventure.
The Opportunity I Didn’t Realise I Had
When you’re 18, a year feels like forever, when you’re 30, you realise it was almost nothing, when you’re 40 a year feels like last week. Taking a year to travel, learn new skills and experience the world doesn’t put your life on hold it can completely change its direction.
I used to think ‘travelling’ was just about seeing beaches and ticking countries off a list and a Gap Year was a ticket to do so, but having helped hundreds of young people embark on life-changing Gap Years over the past decade (plus) I know it’s about something much bigger.
There are so many things that happen along the journey it’s hard to explain. Such as learning how to solve problems when nothing goes to plan (you miss your connecting flight through Europe and your e-sim doesn’t work), becoming comfortable being uncomfortable (literally comfortable sat upright on a budget Air Asia flight because you’re stoked you made the plane), meeting people whose lives are completely different from your own (whether it’s the kid travelling on a trust fund or the mid thirties sabbatical traveller looking for a new direction), learning that there’s more than one way to live (“people actually live here?”).
Those lessons stay with you far longer than the passport stamps or the freshers week drinking circles.
Confidence Doesn’t Come From Comfort
One thing I’ve learnt over the decades is that confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s built. It’s built the first time you catch a wave you’ve been scared to paddle for, or paddle out back for the first time. It’s built when you arrive in a country where you don’t know anyone and leave with lifelong friends. It’s built when you have to make decisions without your parents, teachers or classmates telling you what to do.
Real confidence comes from real experiences and no classroom or lecturer can fully teach that.
Success Looks Different Than You Think
At 18 I thought success meant getting ahead as quickly as possible. Now I feel like one of the most successful people amongst my peers as success to me is having stories to tell.
Success is building friendships around the world, discovering passions you never knew existed, finding work that genuinely excites you instead of simply impressing your parents and peers and paying the car finance.
Ironically, many employers value these experiences too. They look for people who can communicate, adapt, solve problems and work with others, qualities that often develop through travel and stepping outside your comfort zone.
If You’re Finishing Your A-Levels This Summer…
You don’t need to have your entire life planned, it’s okay if you don’t know exactly what degree you want to study or you’re unsure about your career and would rather go on an adventure before the next chapter begins.
In fact, that uncertainty might be the best reason to pause and invest in experiences that help you discover who you are.
A Gap Year Can Be More Than Just Travelling
Not all gap years are created equal. I accidentally took a gap year after dropping out of a design degree almost instantly and worked as a porter at a hotel in Newquay, Cornwall through the Winter. This has to be one of the most depressing eras in my life, however it definitely helped me realise what I didn’t want to do with my life.
In hindsight taking a year to go surf around the World would have been a way better way to spend my last teenage years and whilst spending months drifting from hostel to hostel can be fun, a structured gap year gives you something more meaningful.
Imagine learning to surf in world-class waves, travelling through incredible countries, gaining recognised qualifications, living with like-minded people from around the world, challenging yourself every day, and returning home with more confidence, independence and direction than when you left.
That’s the kind of experience that shapes the person you become.
My Advice?
If I could give my 18-year-old self one piece of advice, it would be this:
Don’t measure your life by how quickly you reach the next milestone or how far that milestone is. Measure it by the experiences that change you. Uni will still be there, work will still be there, adult life is looming and it isn’t going anywhere.
But the freedom you have after finishing your A-Levels is unique, it’s one of the few times in life when you can press pause, explore the world, meet incredible people and discover what you’re truly capable of.
Years from now, you probably won’t remember what grade you got on your last exam but you’ll remember the adventures that made you who you are.