After I graduated from high school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I had been through high school during the COVID pandemic, which had made the experience a very odd one, to say the least. While there were certainly parts I enjoyed, I felt as though I had missed out on a lot of the formative experiences one typically has in their youth. I also felt that I didn’t know who I was, what I wanted from my life, or how to go out into the real world and take those next steps.

I had long considered taking a gap year after high school before proceeding with my post-secondary education, but I wasn’t quite sure what that would look like. When my mother heard about the Discover Year program and encouraged me to look into it, I did—and it sounded like the perfect fit for me. 

After I graduated from high school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I had been through high school during the COVID pandemic, which had made the experience a very odd one, to say the least. While there were certainly parts I enjoyed, I felt as though I had missed out on a lot of the formative experiences one typically has in their youth. I also felt that I didn’t know who I was, what I wanted from my life, or how to go out into the real world and take those next steps.

I had long considered taking a gap year after high school before proceeding with my post-secondary education, but I wasn’t quite sure what that would look like. When my mother heard about the Discover Year program and encouraged me to look into it, I did—and it sounded like the perfect fit for me.

Although I still wasn’t sure what would come of my gap year, I took a leap of faith. Turns out, it was the best decision I could have made at that time. Little did I know when I started the program how much I would get out of the experience. I could not have predicted how much better I would know myself, or that I would discover what I wanted to do in life after completing my Discover Year. I did so many things and learned so much that even looking back on it now it astounds me: I learned incredibly important life and career skills from the workshops that I only wish I had learned in high school; I formed deep connections and friendships with my peers; I travelled on my own to Halifax for the first time; and I even got my first real job.

I can confidently say that I am a far better person today because of Discover Year. My gap year taught me so much about the world, the workplace, others, and myself. I will often find myself doing things I never could have possibly dreamed of doing even just a few short years ago, and I often have to stop and reflect on how far I have come and how proud I am of what I have learned and achieved thanks to Discover Year.

This program has absolutely changed my life for the better, and I can pretty safely say it will change yours as well if you take the leap of faith into the unknown. After all, isn’t that what life is all about?