Best Decision I’ve Made

As I approached my senior year of high school, it became clear that taking the traditional route and going to college was not right for me. Despite my academic success in high school, I knew I wanted to gain a greater sense of independence with guidance prior to entering college life. A gap year seemed to be in my best interest. For my gap year, I chose to enroll at Dynamy.
For me personally, I decided to go to Dynamy because I wanted to take the time to get a better sense of what career I’d like to pursue and the college courses I would need to take in order to determine my major so that I can achieve my goal. I also wanted to develop even stronger skills that relate to work ethic, time management, and responsibility.
At Dynamy, students are also provided internships to get hands on experience and to investigate different careers. Through this program, I obtained a teaching internship where I learned hands on experience in the classroom. I mastered how to manage a classroom and how to effectively work with students. I also secured an internship learning how to maintain and keep a pottery studio in top shape.
At Dynamy, improved my work ethic, fine-tuned my independent living skills like learning how to budget money for groceries, for transportation, and for other living essentials. I have also learned how to maintain a clean and safe apartment as well as how to live successfully with roommates. Having healthy relationships and communication is extremely important in order to coexist with your roommates, and this is a valuable lesson that has aided me in college dorm living.
Dynamy has also helped me to further develop my social skills. I am social; however, I struggle with finding the balance between my need to be assertive and people taking advantage of my kindness. Dynamy’s staff has helped me to work on these areas through one-on-one counseling and by giving gentle reminders to continue to strive to reach these goals. Something that has really helped me to grow socially is the requirement to attend social events for credit. This has provided an excellent opportunity for me to interact with my peers. These events have increased my confidence in social situations tremendously and I have gained many new friends.
In addition, attending these events has also taught me how to create a positive balance of my work life and social life. Over the course of this semester, I took a class through Clark University and had to learn to find time for studying, attending events, working, and hanging out with friends. While it was a little hectic at times, I learned useful time management strategies to help tame the craziness. I dedicated certain times for exclusively studying and if I knew there was an event or an obligation I had to fulfill, I learned to plan ahead to get work done. I also found it helpful to do a little bit of work each day and not wait to do it all on the weekend before class on Monday. Taking the Clark class certainly was fascinating and gave me a sneak peek into what a college class is like in addition to indirectly teaching me how to manage school and my life outside the classroom.
Taking a gap year at Dynamy was one of the smartest decisions I’ve made. I’ve developed a better understanding of the workforce, myself, and has helped me transition into the college experience. Dynamy’s program allowed me to grow academically, socially, and professionally. With these newfound skills, I am equipped to successfully embark on the college experience and whatever else lies ahead in my future.