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find it isn’t for them and save them thousands in tuition. Internships are also a good option. If online learning wasn’t the motivating factor behind your child choosing to take a gap year, you can suggest that they explore remote options through platforms like AngelList.com andWeWorkRemotely.com. TIP NO. 2: LEARN SOMETHING NEW. Usually, travel and cultural immersion are go- to gap year strategies for learning new things. However, your kid doesn’t actually need to head to Spain to learn Spanish — their fluency will be just as valid to a future employer if they pick it up from Duolingo. Additionally, YouTube video tutorials and online certification programs can lay the groundwork for any number of valuable skills, including coding, furniture building, and medical work. TIP NO. 3: START AN ONLINE BUSINESS. If your teen has an entrepreneurial spirit, encourage them to use their year off to start a business. Etsy is a great online platform to sell handmade items, and if they’re passionate about a craft, like writing or website
development, they can conduct their business entirely online. Who knows! With a year of effort, they might make some money, and even if they don’t, they’ll learn something and add a line item to their resume. TIP NO. 4: REACH OUT TO ROLE MODELS. Teens are not too young to start networking. Whether yours wants to be a welder, a professor, or a geologist, there are likely people in their field who they admire. If your kid seems stuck in a rut, suggest they reach out to their idols or join a group of other young people with similar interests. On the off chance they hear back from a giant in their field, they’ll make a priceless connection, and their peers may soon become their colleagues. TIP NO. 5: DEVELOP A SELF-MARKETING STRATEGY. According to the Student Conservation Association, 92% of kids who take a gap year do it in order to “gain life experiences and grow personally.”That personal growth can be valuable. If your teen knows their strengths, weaknesses, and how to represent
themselves well, they will have a leg up in a job or fellowship interview. Before your kid goes back to school, you can sit down together and discuss how they’ll talk about their gap year and market what they’ve learned. Your teen doesn’t have to tackle all of these tips at once, but if they follow even one of them well, when they do head back to school, they’ll be wiser, more well-rounded, and better prepared for the next challenge.
HOWSTRESS CAN LEAD TO INJURY And How You Can Stop It
While it’s pretty intuitive that physical stressors can cause physical injuries, you might not know that mental and emotional stress can also lead to musculoskeletal injuries that require physical therapy. That’s right — a lack of sleep, a busy workweek, and other stressful life events can make you more prone to injury. Why is this, and how can you prevent the stresses of everyday life from causing you bodily harm?
When you experience stress, your body does a few things that naturally put you at an increased risk of injury. First, stress causes your nerves to function inefficiently. Second, stressful situations lead to higher levels of cortisol in the body, a hormone that inhibits muscle repair and immune system function. If you’re always dealing with stressful situations, then you’re constantly leaving your body open to physical injury. You can prevent injuries with all sorts of physical means, but if you fail to address your mental and emotional health, you’ll still be at a heightened risk. While you might not be able to prevent every stressful situation from ever happening, you can control how you react when one does occur. A few simple things you can do to prevent mental stress are to get enough sleep, maintain a healthy diet, and drink plenty of water. If any of these basic stress inhibitors are absent from your daily routine, focus on incorporating them in to alleviate some of your stress. That said, practicing simple breathing exercises or another form of meditation can also be helpful, especially if you’re looking for a physical way to mentally unwind after a stressful day. While learning about how much stress hurts you can be even more stressful, you can find some peace knowing that with a few simple changes to your routine, you can prevent your stress from causing physical injury.
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