There are so many ways to spend a gap year. Imagine any exciting plans you have for the summer after senior year of high school, all stretched out over what could be the best, most fulfilling year of your life. Opportunities such as travel, working full-time, and community service can all smooth out the segue between high school and college, while also giving you important experiences and lessons for the future.

A gap year is not a vacation. It’s not time off for slackers. It is a period of time at a pivotal point in your life during which you could do something other than a permanent job or your freshman year of college. Something valuable, something to remember.

Do you want to help build basketball courts in South America? Ever thought of actively helping victims of the tsunami rebuild their homes and communities throughout Southeast Asia? Need to make some money to make college tuition less fearsome? Gap years offer these kinds of opportunities.