A Gap Year?

Wow, I have had a busy few weeks! Hence, my lack of posting.

I moved from Nashville back to Boston.

I transferred from my Nashville CorePower studio to a Boston CorePower studio and recently started my weekly classes.

I moved into a new apartment in a new neighborhood (I have had so much fun exploring)!

And I started my first full-time job at the Department of Justice. I just completed my first week!

I am very excited to start this next chapter of my life, but let me tell you it certainly was not what I had planned… and that is okay!

You’ll start to see that the point of this post is going to be entirely based upon the idea of letting life take the reins for a minute. Knowing that not everything is in your control, it is necessary to be spontaneous and carefree sometimes.

Throughout undergrad, I have had a plan to matriculate right into law school after graduating. From the multitude of pieces of advice from numerous friends, family, coworkers, and current law students, the one piece of advice they all recommended was to take some time after undergraduate studies to work and gain experience before stepping right into the bowels of law school.

And what did I do?

I completely ignored this advice and carried on with my meticulous multi-step plan to a career as a civil rights attorney. Every box was checked, and everything that I thought the world, admissions counselors, and peers wanted from me was done.

It wasn’t until several meetings with law application advisors that I began to doubt myself and my chances at admission into my dream schools. All the confidence I built and progress I thought I had made were disrupted by honest but harsh advice to increase my LSAT score and gain more work experience. This is when I broke down. When a perfectly planned step along the way to achieving my goal starts to seem further away or unachievable, my overall plan starts to seem unfathomable.

It took a lot of inner conversations and guidance from my peers to get out of this rut, over-preparation, and perfectionism that eventually led to extreme disappointment in myself.

A wise friend helped me see that life doesn’t have to be lived according to a rigid, step-by-step blueprint for success or planned down to every last detail. In chasing that structure, I hadn’t realized what I was giving up: my spontaneity, my joy in going out with friends, and the freedom to just be.

Making the decision to take a year after undergrad was very difficult and became my “Plan B”. Accepting this “Plan B” was heart-wrenching. I began to re-focus on this gap year as an opportunity, and not a setback or a lesser version of my original plan.

Now, I truly cannot imagine myself preparing to enter law school this fall. When I pause to think about everything I would’ve missed had I chosen to go straight through, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. Taking this gap year was not only the right decision, but a completely transformative one.

This year has given me space to grow in ways I never anticipated. My application for law school will now carry more weight because of the incredible, tangible work experience I’m gaining. I’ve stepped into a role at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where I’m learning every day what it means to work under continued budget cuts under the current administration, impacting the way we work. This experience will shape my professional perspective and remain relevant in future interviews and conversations for years to come.

Beyond the professional, I’ve also found grounding in my personal and spiritual life. Teaching yoga at CorePower has continued to deepen my connection to myself and my community and has completely increased my confidence. I’ve settled into a great new neighborhood and found an apartment. Every logistical piece, from the timing of my job offer to background clearance timing to finding the right living space, seemed to align effortlessly. It felt like the universe saying: this is exactly where you’re meant to be.

I now have time to breathe, reflect, and actually process my undergraduate years. For once, life doesn't feel like a race to the next milestone. It feels so intentional.

If you can’t tell, I’m a little superstitious. I love believing in fate, in signs, in the idea that fate is inevitable. This year my New Years resolution was to be spontaneous and relaxed as I can be and to take advantage of new opportunities that present themselves. It has taken everything to break habits of toxic perfectionism and unrealistic expectations, but I can truly say I mentally and emotionally feel better. This was the change I needed.

I can’t wait to keep you updated throughout the remainder of my new opportunity (gap year)!

With gratitude,

Olivia