I'm taking an eight-month gap year this year, with plans to return to society in the fall for grad school. Why are you taking time off during the singularity, you ask? Because I have been slowly withering away and felt it important to try to feel alive again.
As January came to an end, I began to panic about using my time off productively and rushed to make a lengthy Google Doc with a to-do list of possible projects that would look legibly impressive on my CV. This ended up giving me the ick—it was far too top-down and inorganic, the ideas born through coercion and force rather than love and curiosity. And so, this reminded me that for my gap year, I would like things to emerge as spontaneously as possible, and I will trust that interesting things will happen by following my curiosity. For some broad-strokes inspiration, I will be happy if some of the following occur:
- I go places and do things.
- I meet new people, both personally and professionally. Professionally, I would like to get in the habit of simply reaching out to people I find interesting and seeing if they'd be open to a call, an interview, if they need help. Personally, I have no real bounds on who I am excited to meet. I would like to get a bit out of my bubble, if possible.
- I host events I'd be excited to attend myself. This is a bit tricky without a home base at the moment, but I think this can be done.
- I write. On this blog, on twitter, in my journal, on Substack, in my head, with other people, alone. I'd like to continue doing my morning pages each day.
- I keep up a regular meditation practice.
- I take courses on topics I am genuinely interested in. Currently this includes AI (societal impacts, ethics), writing/journalism, data/polling, sociology, human behavior/psychology, introspection, meditation, and witchcraft.
- I get some things done I've been meaning to do for a long time (upskilling in french, freezing my eggs, getting a drivers liscense).
- I do some sort of volunteering work, join a fellowship - something a bit legible, something that gives me a container to do independent research or be helpful to the world.
- I join some cohort that meets regularly, whether through an online course, a book club, a queer awakening support circle, etc.
- I iterate on a rough direction of research I'd like to focus on during my master's, and compile a running list of project ideas. As a byproduct, I hope to also get better at the skill of "noticing what sparks my interest".
- Arghhhhh I know I said I didn't want to give myself too many top-down goals, but it would be neat if I ended this year with two or three public writing projects I could point to for future job applications, research work, etc.
- I apply to and get into at least one promising masters program, giving me a plan for September onwards.
- I feel alive and okay.
My only note of caution to future me: Please Sofia, do not spend eight months in your bedroom. Blow all your savings if you need to, really. It will be okay. Also, believe in yourself! I think you may surprise yourself.