While volunteering this weekend at the Mercy Edible Park in South Philadelphia, I weeded and mingled with others interested in bringing change to the neighborhood. One 25-year-old woman helping us did a year of service in West Virginia through AmeriCorps. She worked with a non-profit to help drive tourism to a small town. With a degree in painting, she moved from Nebraska to Philadelphia to intern with the Philly Mural Arts Program. There was also a young couple with an adorable baby, and they met while getting TEFL certified in the Czech Republic to teach English abroad.

These people's stories illustrate how common it is to take a meaningful gap year. There is much diversity in what people do during a gap year, but common reasons for taking one are to do something new, travel, and help people. In addition to talking with others about what they did during a gap, a good place to start planning your own gap year is with, of course, the Internet.

When searching "gap year" online, many promotional websites are near the top of the results, like gapyear.com and Gap Year 365. These are good resources to start generating ideas about what to do and to answer questions. Following them on Twitter and Facebook provide insight to current, first-person experiences from others. However, do not feel restricted by what is offered on promotional websites. There are lesser known options like WWOOF and Back Door Jobs and more competitive options like Peace Corps and Teach for America. While some of these options do not directly affiliate themselves online with the term, a gap year is a broad term to help explain why someone took time off from their everyday life.

A person who wants to take a gap is interested primarily in learning, helping, and working.I recently interviewed two such people for my gap year blog, Widen the Gap. Jeff Sierra, 23, graduated from Philadelphia University in 2010 with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and spent his gap year teaching. He served 10 months with City Year in New Hampshire, working in a third grade classroom while supporting students with their academics, homework help after school, and running a cooking enrichment class once per week.

"I chose City Year because I did not want to pursue a graduate degree right after my senior year at Philadelphia University and I wanted to give a year back," he says. "I wanted to take the time to give back because I feel it's the right thing to do."

That reasoning is right on target with traditional gap year-takers, but there are other considerations when creating such a lifestyle. Gap years are not necessarily luxurious, in fact they can be a struggle .Many people pick up odd jobs or work for a period of time beforehand to support what happens during the gap year. In Jeff's case, City Year provides a stipend to cover most living expenses, which Jeff supplements with food stamps.

Ray Fallon, 23 and a 2009 graduate of The College of New Jersey worked for a year immediately after college.

"I lived modestly and saved as much as possible because I knew I would have to provide for myself," he says.

Fallon chose a more bohemian gap year by participating with WWOOF, which stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Fortunately for Fallon, WWOOFers do not need to worry about housing and food expenses because they work on farms in exchange for room and board. One (minimal) expense to consider if choosing to WWOOF is the registration fee, which is around $30. If interested in the concept of WWOOF, but not interested in farming, there is a similar program called Work Away which provides room and board for those who help at homes, bed and breakfasts, and other small projects all over the world.

While the term gap year is not (yet) ubiquitous in the United States, it most certainly exists. Gap years are filled with diversity, ranging from the type of people who take a gap year to what a person does during a gap year. Typically, these people like to use their talents and skills to help, work, and learn in various environments. The gap year spirit and lifestyle is an option to consider during a transitional period in life, and the first step has already been taken by reading this article. Stay tuned to learn more about gap years and the aftermath of taking a gap year.

VERONICA MOUL grew up in southern New Jersey and is one of the first four graduates from the Professional Communication program at Philadelphia University. When she is not traveling the globe, or developing genius ideas, she can be found reading up on social media or playing board games with friends. Send feedback here.

Photos:
Ray Fallon worked on an organic farm during his gap year

Author and budding gap year expert Veronica Moul

Photos courtesy of Moul