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The Gap Year

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As May has quickly come and gone you may be feeling pressure to land your dream job the moment after graduation. But what if you have no clue what, where, or how you’ll be getting any job related to your major? What if you’re not sure about your choice of major at all? You hit the panic button as you reevaluate the ten year plan you’ve laid out for yourself. Don’t be scared because there’s a little something called the gap year that’s here to save you.

What exactly is a gap year, and what does it mean for you?

A gap year is one academic year in which the student, you, steps away from your career to travel the globe, figure out what you want out of life, and what career path you actually want to take, rather than just panicking after college graduation.

No, a gap year after college is not a symptom of being a lazy, unmotivated, or unsuccessful student after graduation. Don’t worry if you haven’t planned your whole life out by the age of twenty-two. The gap year is a time for you to reflect on what you want out of this world while also gaining many personal and career benefits. It’s a time in your life to take a breath and enjoy it before you may become a working slave in the corporate world.

Believe it or not, taking a break from work may actually increase your workplace performance amongst your return. Throughout your gap year, you’ll develop greater career ambitions and goals for yourself.

When you eventually do return, you won’t take your first real job for granted. It won’t be something that’s just landed in your lap, because you’ve already taken the time to explore your options and find what best suits you. You took the time to work for this job and prove your worth. You will have greater work ethic than your coworkers.

Maybe during your time trekking around the world you had to wait tables or wash dishes to make ends meet. Perfect. It’s another life skill you’ve added to your resume. There’s no shame in this. Everyone in their life should experience having at least one or two of these gigs before landing the job of their dreams. It teaches you how to work hard, like work your ass off hard. Yet, you may also find that along the way you gained a sense of appreciation towards people who always have jobs like this. You’ll no longer take the custodian or barista for granted because you’ve learned what it takes to work hard.

Amongst your return, you’ll feel more motivated to jump back into things because you’re not feeling burnt out. It can be rather difficult to pound the pavement right after you’ve spent the last four years studying hard in college. But with a slight mental break, you’ll feel fresh and rested enough to put all of your energy into your new career.

A gap year is also a great resume builder in many ways. During your time off you may learn a new language, a new skill set, or experience a new culture that will change your perspective on the world. You’ll be more adaptable to new situations than someone who hasn’t taken a gap year because you’ve experienced a different culture than that of your own. Living amongst a different society will give you different perspective on things, which will make you a valuable commodity. Your experiences of traveling abroad will give you unique ideas about people and places around the world.

In addition to the numerous perks a gap year will add to your future career, time off will provide you with many personal benefits as well.

If you’re not that college graduate who has your whole future planned out, then that’s ok. This is your time to figure out which path you want to take personally in life and with your career. Or this can be the time for you to reflect on, and confirm your decision of your academic major and future career plans. It’s that extra bit of reassurance that will destroy any doubt in your mind that you had before graduation.

Being young, healthy, and adventurous is also a great time to give back to the world through volunteer work. You’ll be making a huge impact on the local communities you serve by working on many projects that matter to them. Many volunteer programs offer housing to live abroad and volunteer for an extended amount of time. This will be an experience you can always look back and reflect on. Again, it’s something that will give you insight and a greater perspective on the world. Taking time to volunteer abroad will humble you and will make you an all around improved human being. Plus, it’s always better to volunteer now before you’re tied down by a mortgage payment, future children, or your career.

Speaking of kids and careers, this is your time to find out what you want out of life. Time alone by yourself in a different country allows for much self-discovery. Without anyone or anything there to influence you, your mind will have a lot of free time to contemplate what will make you happy in the future. Those who rush into a demanding career right after graduation but are still confused about what they want life often run into problems like an identity crises later in life. You’ll never get this time of reflection in your life back once the ball gets rolling. Take advantage of it while you can.

Sometimes when rushing from one phase of life to the next it can be easy to lose track of what’s truly important. Taking a gap year allows you to learn about what’s really important in the world at a very early age which sets you up for success. Being a twenty-two year old college graduate and knowing about pressing global issues rather than being upset about losing a round of beer pong or having a crappy blind date is colossal. It puts a good perspective on the whole scheme of things.

As we all know, life moves pretty fast. Yesterday it seemed like you were just starting your freshman year, and today you’ve graduated. You need this time to slow the clock down, and soak in the beauty of life. Trust me, you won’t look back at this time in your life when you’re eighty years old, sitting in a nursing home, unable to travel and think, “Man I sure regret exploring the world when I was young.”

As scary and daunting as taking a whole year off may seem, it will teach you so much about yourself and the world. Not having your shit together may be a gift in retrospect because after it’s all said and done, you’ll be confident in who you are as a person and what you want your life to be.

SnowGlobe Concert

Joyzu Uses Live Elements to Bring in the New Year

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The duo, Joyzu, that consists of Quinton Pope and Carson Willms, helped bring in the new year by opening up the main stage on the final day of SnowGlobe Music Festival. The two performers met in high school and started playing just for fun at parties, but soon enough both of them realized that making electronic dance music was their niche. The duo’s performance stood out from their previous shows done because this time they wanted to focus on the live elements and connecting in the moment. “We’ve changed up the vibe of our show,” said Pope. Willms and Pope brought out live performers including Olivia Reid and Lilianna Wilde. Wilde just debuted in their new single “Famous.”

“Someone super close to me got a little famous and let it get the best of them,” said Wilde. When asked if there was any advice that performers can take to avoid letting the fame consume them, Wilde responded with “Just don’t get an ego.” Wilde brought a certain energy on the stage that connected the performers to the fans. Having the new single sung live brought out the originality and passion behind the song.

The performance that went on at SnowGlobe was not planned overnight. “We’ve been working on this show for 3 months” said Willms,“This is the first time we’ve done the whole live element thing.” The duo has been practicing everyday for three months leading up to New Year’s Eve at SnowGlobe. They hope to move away from the stereotype of just regular DJ’s and bring more diverse and alive elements to their music. Their best friends mindset behind their creation of music is to “Just make a good song,” said Pope, “Every song is different, there’s no right way to create a song.”

Willms and Pope have a lot of big plans for the New Year. Willms explained how their goal is to really break into the “roots of edm.” This past year they have stayed more focused on the radio style of electronic music and are hoping to cross over to the more heavier style of what is EDM. The duo recently signed onto Armada Music and with their help they plan on releasing five more songs in 2018. “They’ve given us a lot of opportunities,” said Pope. Three years ago Willms and Pope were in the crowd attending SnowGlobe, and now with the help of their fans and new record label, they are driving in the New Year with their fun and divergent style of music.

 

SnowGlobe Concert

SnowGlobe Day 3 Photos

By burningman, california, culture, dancing, edm, festivals, laketahoe, Millennials, music, musicfestivals, newyears, partyNo Comments

2017 ended in style as SnowGlobe Music Festival came to a close. Neon blue and red lights lit up the Igloo as the Los Angeles based band, Justin Jay, played trance-like, dreamy music. The crowed swayed back and fourth as guitar player, Ben Glasser, jumped up on an amp in front of the stage. Jai Wolf turned a crowd of people into a magical sea of music lovers all on the same wavelength. As the 2018 countdown began, Alison Wonderland slayed the main stage to end the year.

SnowGlobe Concert

TroyBoi Talks New Album: Left is Right

By burningman, california, culture, dancing, edm, festivals, laketahoe, music, musicfestivals, newyears, party, rap, snowglobe, troyboiNo Comments

On a quiet, peaceful afternoon Troy Henry, known as TroyBoi, was sitting in his house in Miami, Florida. Looking at the view from his lounge as the sun began to set and created what he describes as the perfect conditions to make his favorite track “Wavy” off of his new album Left is Right. Henry wanted to paint a mental picture through music that would capture that exact moment and take him back to that place each time he listens to it.

Making Left is Right not only was a way for Henry to show what he could create as a producer but was also a way for him to tell a musical story. Each track on the album flows into the next one in a certain way. Henry wanted to cultivate a variety of vibes and feelings with every new song that each has been inspired by a variety of influences including house, hip hop, trap, R&B, and reggae.

Henry said he’s been working on the album for about a year and has recorded songs everywhere from his house to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He develops ideas from everyday sounds like footsteps banging on a staircase, people coughing, and raindrops then records it on his phone and uses these sounds for inspiration later when producing.

“I tend to let the music write itself, and that’s a trait I’ve learned from Michael Jackson. He’s one of my greatest inspirations,” said Henry, “It’s just whatever comes at the time is what I make.”

Music has always had an influence in Henry’s life, and with the support of his friend, IceKream, he finally decided to end his eight year career in real estate to pursue music full-time. Henry said no matter what he did his parents were always supportive and the best thing he could do for them is to go out [to the music scene] and give it his all.

It is definitely clear that Henry remains in touch with his humble roots of making beats in his bedroom. “I am very grateful for the fans I have out here,” said Henry, “I’ve got some new music i’ve been working on still from the new album, and I just want to have a good time with everybody and end the new year with a bang.”

Looking forward to the future, Henry said the only thing he wants to do is become bigger and better whether it’s getting hyped to perform at festivals or writing new music.