A Gap Year, Why Not?

Nowadays, some students take a year off after they graduate from their study in senior high school. This activity is known as a gap year. According to PLANETGapYear (2011), “Gap year is a period of time when students take a break from formal education to travel, volunteer, intern, study, work, perform research or any combination of these activities”.  A gap year has different name in each country. Some people define a gap year as an interim year, deferring college, an overseas experience or taking time out. Students who take a gap are also known as "gappers". Most students do not want to take a gap year because they do not yet know the benefits they can get over in the gap year. In fact, a gap year can help graduates improve job prospects in the future time, renew their passion for college, and gain a sense of maturity and self confidence.

The first reason to take a gap year is because it can improve job prospective when they graduate from university. If students use their gap year to improve their skill and experience at work, it will bring a benefit for them. In fact, after they graduate from their study in university, they will have many competitors in finding job. For that reason, of course they should have an excess which can make them preferred to work at the company compared with any other college graduates. It is in line with the survey conducted by PLANETGapYear in 2011. According to PLANETGapYear (2011), “85% of the United Kingdom HR professionals agreed that they preferred a job-seeker who has a suitable work experience than an average non-vocational degree and 63% of them said that they notice a job application from gappers who spent their times for volunteering or gaining work experience overseas”. Therefore, students should use their gap year properly. They can do a language-learning, make a work experience, do a charity work, and develop their networks that could help them in their future career. Moreover, in the article of The Goods on the Gap Years written by Boyd, Bull, who is a president of the Center for Interim Programs in Princeton, New Jersey, suggests that a gap year is the best time to be an open-minded person by learning the other cultures, then it is the best time to discover a possible careers for their future life, and it is the best time to discern themselves better.

The next reason to take a gap year is because it can refresh graduates’ passion for college life. Some students need a gap year because they feel burn-out by their formal education. They need to take a breath for a while after 13 years of studying. They spend the time to pursue their formal education since they were in kindergarten through high school. If the school is like a journey and life goals is an established career or a job, then students need a break occasionally when they have felt tired with their long journey, conversely they should remember that their goal has not been achieved yet, and it needs to be resumed. Therefore, they should continue their journey to a university education after they rest. As written in 11 Amazing Ways to Spend a Year Off Before College (2011), “Students who take a gap year will be more serious in their study because they are ready to face the university life”. For example, Sullivan (2011), one of the gapers, claimed that her gap year had prepared her for college more than high school ever could have. She had a better idea of who she was and what she wanted to achieve than most of her peers. In another case, Sullivan’s parents who was worried by her daughter’s decision to take a gap year, now they are breathing easily because she maintain a 4.0 GPA. She said that taking time off had been the best decision she ever had made for herself.  That is why several top universities such as Harvard and York University support the idea about gap year before they settle in for freshman year. Gappers argue that while many of their classmates come to campus ready to party, they come ready to learn. This is because the gappers have been enjoying their refreshing time when they take the time off, so they are ready to give their best when they return to campus.

The other reason students should take a gap year is to gain a sense of maturity and self confidence. Sometimes most graduate students are not mature enough to decide which course that they will take in university. They need a lot of time to recognize their interest and personality. Therefore, by taking one year off, students can be more mature for a year before making a commitment to a course of study. When they have decided the course which they are interested in, they will study harder and enjoy everything there. Based on information bulletin titled What’s a Gap Year?, there are some advantages of taking a gap year. One of the advantages which student can get is they will get a maturity boost. They can use this opportunity as a time to know about themselves, to make choices about their future, to strengthen soft skills and to develop emotional intelligence. Gappers find themselves thrust into new situations, making decisions and interacting with new people all the time. Some students choose to work, do an internship, volunteer, and find the experiences which can bring the maturity naturally for the gapers. In another way, most students go to the university which they do not want because they are not accepted in their university choices. The writer believes that it is a wrong way because to be success students, they should enjoy and like everything that they do, so it is better to take a gap year for preparing themselves to study harder in order to be accepted in the university that they want.

Considering the conventions that students should have a university experience sooner, for they can graduate from that university younger, some graduates students might claim that they do not need to take a year off after their graduation from high school. Of course, it is true if they have decided what course in university which they will learn and if they are ready to enter the university life. In contrast, based on fact which the writer found, some graduate students fail in their university life because they just enter the university without any preparation. They just follow most Indonesian people who think that sooner is better.  Nevertheless, some students who take a year off before their university life will feel the benefits which they can get in the future time, the fresh brain and body for studying in university, and the preparation for adapting in the university life. Therefore, those can be the considerations for high school graduates to take a year off.

In short, students do not have to be afraid to take a gap year before continuing their study in university. Most graduate students who have taken a gap year return with a better sense of direction and focus on their course of study. Moreover, students who take a gap year are usually not bounded by a usual or accepted way of behaving to continue their course sooner. They can prepare themselves to be better than other students. A gap year does not mean that graduates students are totally free from their duty in study; moreover, they can learn a new thing in their lives.

THE SHINING LIGHT FOR DIABETICS

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder of the body’s inability to produce insulin which becomes a frightening specter for everyone. According to Antara News, nowadays, 3 million people died, 1 million people have his leg amputated, half a million people do dialysis, and 300 people become blind due to complications from diabetes. Most diabetics (people who have diabetes) think that their lives will end bleakly, but that is a wrong assumption about diabetes because diabetics can have a normal and healthy life again, if the diabetics know much info about the disease, such as the ways to avoid complication because of diabetes, and the ways to avoid insulin dependence; moreover, they also have to know the importance of exercise for diabetics.

Diabetes is not always developed complications. One of the causes of complication in diabetics is because of the lack of intracellular glucose which is a circumstance that indicates the body’s cells have “starved” because they do not get enough sugar intakes. If their cardiac cells do not get enough sugar intakes, complication of a heart attack will occur for diabetic. Then, if their eye cells do no get enough sugar intakes, diabetes may make diabetics blind; in addition, if it occurs in kidney, diabetics have to do dialysis. Moreover, if it occurs in legs cells, diabetes can make diabetics’ legs amputated. Dr. Dante Seksono said that diabetics can avoid the complications of diabetes. For example, diabetics should control their blood pressure below 130/80 mm Hg, LDL levels should be below 100 mg/dl, HDL levels should be above 40 mg/dl, and triglycerides should be below 150 mg/dl. Besides, diabetics should visit ophthalmologist to check their eyes once a year to avoid the blindness. In brief, if diabetics control to their doctor regularly, the complication of diabetes can be prevented.

Diabetics do not have to seek treatments throughout their lives. Treatment for diabetics is not only aimed to lower their blood sugar levels, but also it can save pancreas which produces insulin (a hormone in the body which controls the amount of sugar in the blood) from damage too. Based on the research’s result, insulin therapy can alleviate pancreas’ work in producing insulin, but meditation and insulin are not the only solution in terms of treatments for diabetics because the dependence of medicine and insulin can be avoided by diet. The most important thing to do diet for diabetics is by considering about types of meals, amount of food, and the schedule of their meals. Most people do diet by decrease their eating schedule becomes once a day, whereas that is a wrong idea about diet. Diabetics have to eat three times a day, but they should consider about a balanced diet. Their meals should be rice, fish, vegetables, and fruits; in addition, diabetics should avoid foods which contain saturated fats, such as butter, cream, and meat.  If diabetics do a balanced diet, the writer sure they will release their medicine and insulin dependence.

In addition to have the shining light, diabetics should exercise to relieve their illness. Medical experts agree that exercise has some advantages for diabetics. First of all, exercise can control the amount of sugar in the blood. When diabetics do exercise, they can decrease their weight which can help them to decrease their sugar level, cholesterol, and their blood pressure too. In other word, exercise can avoid heart attack for diabetics. Another reason to do exercise is because exercise can reduce stress which can increase diabetics’ sugar level. Relaxation techniques which can reduce stress, such as breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation are very effective for diabetics. Finally, exercise can help diabetics to reduce the consumption of diabetes drugs because exercise have some advantages for diabetics and can relieve their complication, so the dependence of medicine can be reduced slowly. Diabetics should not do strenuous exercise to reduce their blood sugar level. The most important thing is diabetics have to do exercise regularly, for example, jogging, walking for 30 minutes, swimming, or dancing. By doing all these exercises, medical experts believe that diabetics will have better lives.

Based on the explanation above, despite diabetes can lead to death and difficult to be cured, diabetes can be controlled; therefore, it cannot be too dangerous for diabetics’ life. Diabetics may release their medicine and insulin dependence, if they do a lot of exercise and check their sugar level regularly; moreover, diabetics also have the bright future if they endeavor to make their life better.

My Memorable Experience

     Going to Jogjakarta alone is the most memorable experience in my life. I went to Jogjakarta in my holiday at 3^rd semester by train. On Tuesday morning, 1^st of March in 2011, my father saw me off at the station. He accompanied me before the train left. After that, I just sat in my seat alone because my seat-mate came from Indramayu. My seat-mate is a 21 years old man who majored in English at Sanatha Dharma University. We spent our times by sharing our experience in learning English. In the middle of our conversation, sometimes my father interrupted us by his calling. He phoned me every hour for asking me whether I was alright or not. He did that because I never went to a far place alone, so I could understand about his feelings. After I talked with my father in the phone, I apologized to my seat-mate for my father who had interrupted us. He just laughed and said that he had no objection for it, so we could continue our conversation. Because of our pleasant conversation, we didn’t notice that the train had arrived at Tugu Station, so we went our separate ways. Then, I phoned my cousin to pick me up in Tugu Station. She said that she would be there as soon as possible, and she asked me to wait in the main entrance of that station. I got confused and didn’t know where the location of the main entrance was because I never stepped in that station around 8 years. I just followed crowded people to exit that station. I was really confident and believe that I was in the right position until my cousin phoned me and said that she couldn’t find me. She asked me where actually I was. Then, I mentioned the characteristics of buildings that exist around me. Five minutes later, she came to me and said that I had waited in the behind entrance, so she couldn’t find me. I thought that going to Jogjakarta alone is the most memorable experience because I have a new pleasant friend, and I know where the main and behind entrance of Tugu Station are. :)


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A Kind-Hearted Girl

Anis and I at Dufan

Anis is one of my friends who have a kind heart. First of all, she always help me when I need her help. Another reason, she always lets me to take a rest in her boarding house after we finish our class. A third reason she belongs to a kind-hearted girl is because she usually brings my favorite foods after she visited her home in Tangerang. Afterwards, she lends me money when I forget to bring it. Finally, she takes care of my health, for she always reminds me to avoid spicy food because I can easily get a very delicate stomach when I eat that. For that reasons, I believe that she is a very kind girl.

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Embarrassing Incident

This morning, me and my friend, Wiwit, experienced an embarrassing incident. We are locked at the toilet on the 2^nd floor in my campus. We were alone there, so we feel very panicky. We tried to call our friends. I called Nabila, but she did not answer my calls, nor did Novi and Ari. On the other condition, Wiwit called Ina and asked her to come look for us at the toilet on the 2^nd floor, but there was an error communication between them. Ina looked for us on the 2nd floor toilet building which had used to Faculty of Economy, but we were locked in the toilet on 2^nd floor, which located in FKIP’s building. So, we just waited for her coming, until we felt desperately. We guessed that we had been disturbed by the Satan in that toilet, so I almost cried at that time. When we were waiting for someone who would help us, Ari suddenly came and opened the door easily. Wiwit and I just didn’t believe that the door could be opened easily. Then Novi also came over to us. She laughed and said that door is different from others doors. When we want to open that door, we had to push the handle upwards. Oh my God! How embarrassed we were, especially when we knew that the incident was known by our friends in the class.

New Vocabularies:

Embarrassing: making you feel shy, awkward, or ashamed. (Adj)

Incident: something that happened, especially something unusual or unpleasant. (N)

Desperately: think that you just have little hope. (Adv)

Guessed: to suppose that something is true. (V)

Push: to use your hands in order to make something moove forward. (V)