Deferring a year before uni was a scary decision for me, but I am so glad that I did it. Today we are diving into 3 important things that I learned from my deferred year.
1. Everyone’s pace is different
Before my deferred year, I thought that I if I took a year, I would be a year behind everyone my age. And I thought that would negatively affect my music career.
When I got to the conservatoire, I realised that is far from the truth. There are people in my year who are younger than me and older than me. There are people who are 17, 18, 24, my parents’ age. Everyone is on their own path, and if yours includes a deferred year, then that is what you need to do.
2. There are so many different types of deferred years
Some people go backpacking, other people apply for tons of scholarships and funding. I mostly prepared financially and logistically. I also was able to start the Confident Musicianing Podcast and this blog. Honestly, I hardly left the house.
In your year, don’t compare it to that person on social media who seems to be doing everything. If you need to just get a job and earn the money for uni, then that’s perfect for you. If you need to just apply for funding, then that’s perfect for you.
What will your year look like? What are your priorities this year?
3. Structuring your year
When you take a year, there is no “school day” that tells you when to stop working. You need to decide that yourself. That is honestly no easy task.
During my year, I took an hour for lunch, and I stuck to it. 12.30 every day. I started working around 8am. I also stopped working around 7pm every day, and after that, I made sure I had time for hobbies and fun things.
Setting those boundaries is crucial to you not burning out during your deferred year. Set them now, don’t burn out later.
If you decide to take a year, I wish you all the best with it! Comment below what you plan to do with it.
All my best,
Eleanor
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