Revisiting Samantha

(To read the original Gap Year story featured in our October 2013 issue, click here)

Samantha Jones was a graduating senior at Pittsford Mendon High School last summer when I interviewed her mother, Lori Jones, about the gap year Sam was planning to take. This summer I met Samantha at a Rochester coffee shop to see how her gap year had transpired.

On the surface, it might not appear that the nineteen-year-old had done anything earthshaking. But the longer we talked, the more I came to realize just how valuable her past year has been. Though Samantha may have chosen the “path less traveled on,” she seems to have gained as much personally, and in terms of identifying her future goals, as the typical college freshman.

What Sam Learned…

Food service is not the career for her

Samantha was employed by Tim Hortons in high school and worked the 6am to 2pm shift through March 2014 of her gap year. At that point she says she was ready to move on and put the restaurant business behind her. Currently she’s working at Alex and Ani by Eastview Mall, a boutique store that specializes in jewelry made from materials like recycled metals. “I love it!” Sam says. “It’s all about positive energy and transformation.”

A traditional four-year college probably isn’t for her

According to Sam, she filled out applications for several four-year colleges in Florida and was accepted by all of them. However, after visiting her boyfriend at the University of Miami and her best friend at SUNY Geneseo, she doesn’t feel like the standard college experience is for her. Given this, what are Samantha’s plans for the remainder of 2014?

Her parents have told her that this fall she’ll either need to enroll in some type of college program or she’ll have to start paying room and board. She’s begun exploring schools that offer programs/certification in acupuncture, a holistic treatment that has become increasingly attractive to her.

“The Eastern philosophy is open and accepting and a much better fit for me,” she explains, adding that she’s always wanted to help people on some level. Sam has been in contact with several schools to learn more about their acupuncture programs and to see what core requirements she would need before enrolling (i.e. biology or anatomy).

She’s also planning to visit a local acupuncturist, both for the experience and to ask her questions about why she chose that field, what the training is like, and where she received her education.

She has more physical and emotional strength than she realized

Having never been an athlete in high school, studying yoga has helped Sam understand that she’s physically stronger than she previously thought. When practicing the tougher yoga positions, she tells herself ‘I am strong. I can do this!’

One of her biggest accomplishments this year has been learning not to take things so personally and not to care as much about what others think about the choices she makes. Samantha has discovered that it’s the people she doesn’t know who are often the most judgmental.

“Some of my customers at Tim Hortons were like ‘What are you, nuts? You’ll never go to college now,’” she recalls, asserting, “I do want to go to college and I am going to go to college but not on your timeline, on mine.” She adds, “You have one life and you should enjoy it, instead of always doing what others want you to do.”

The lesson Sam says she’s learned from these encounters is to be less judgmental of others and to assume positive intent until proven otherwise. “When people are not in a good place you should extend compassion,” she observes. “People may be having things going on in their lives that you have no clue about.”

The value of money

Samantha has a credit card but she tries to use it sparingly (even when clothes shopping!) and pays her bill in full each month. Though she currently lives at home rent-free and her parents pay for her phone, she has paid for a portion of the car she drives and is responsible for her monthly car insurance payments and gas. She has several different bank accounts, including one she never touches, and she takes advantage of services like direct deposit and automatic payments to keep herself financially solvent.

Sam had hoped to travel more extensively this year but quickly discovered that it would be too expensive. Though she was able to take a cruise with her parents and visit Florida several times she admits, “It’s not exactly what I had in mind. I wanted to go to Europe.” At the time of our interview she was also planning a summer trip to Colorado for ten days where she hopes to try some things she’d never done before like horseback riding, white water rafting, and soaking in the hot springs.

How to choose a realistic goal and take specific steps to achieve it

One of Sam’s biggest accomplishments during her gap year was receiving her yoga teacher training certification for 200 hours. Though she had originally considered applying to the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, her yoga teacher at Prana Yoga in Fairport convinced her to enroll in the YogaWorks Teacher Training course instead, a local, and less expensive, endeavor. “It cost $3,000, which is the biggest check I’ve ever written,” Sam notes proudly.

The course also involved a substantial time commitment. Trainings were held every other weekend for twelve hours from November 2013 to April 2014 and Sam had to order and pay for five books for her classes, including The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a book well-known in the yoga community.

Though Samantha was the youngest member of her class and relatively inexperienced compared to some of the other students, she wasn’t deterred by this or the amount of required reading, homework, or the intense schedule. The hardest part for her was when the students had to practice teaching classes in front of each other. “It was scary at first,” Sam admits. “But it got easier once we were on more intimate footing with each other.”

She also practiced teaching her mother and friends positions she learned in class to get more comfortable in her new role. One of her best memories was when the class celebrated the conclusion of their yoga teacher training by going to Letchworth State Park and spending the day hiking and relaxing.

“It was definitely a big investment, but so worth it,” Samantha concludes. “I’d recommend it to anyone.” Besides getting her certification, she’s also created a personal “yoga room” at home which sheuses as a retreat when she needs time to think. “It’s an important part of my life now,” she says. “A place I can go to quiet the chaos in my mind.”

As her gap year draws to a conclusion, does Samantha have any regrets? Not really. “I was diagnosed with ADD in my junior year,” she explains, adding that up until then she had just thought she wasn’t as smart as other students. Because of this, senior year was easier but she notes, “I’d struggled so hard for those 11 years that I needed a break. I just wanted to take some time to work and explore different things I was interested in…I’d be miserable if I had gone right to college.”

Most of all, Samantha has enjoyed having the time and space to move toward becoming an independent adult. “I like facing challenges and trying to work things through by myself,” she concludes.

Sue Henninger is a monthly contributor who enjoys writing about the unique people, places, and events that can be found in the Finger Lakes region.