Work
Ask yourself this
Working Abroad
What you've said...
I am also a student hoping to go abroad to work. Luckily, however, for me my mum totally agreed with me. However, i think Faye should sit her mum down and have a lengthy discussion about this to come to some sort of decision. This way they are both clearing the air. Buy Faye should make sure her mum is ok whilst sticking to her guns at the same time. She doesnt want to fall out with her mum, but at the same time, if she doesnt do this, she'll more than likely regret it forever and end up hating her mum anyway. Her mum will see this in time.
faye should give her mum advantages and disadvantages of working abroad and show that her mum can trust her and see if her mum could visit ofen to where she wants to work and to make sure that here is somewhere faye can live and work before she heads there.
I think that Faye should think about all the aspecs of leaving to go abroad e.g she would have to save up to go away and she wouldn't know anyone. Once she has considered them she should tell her mum and her mum would realise she has thought about everything!
Adviser feedback...
Hi Faye,
Taking a year out can let you discover other countries and cultures, experiment with different work or leisure activities as well as giving you a break after the stresses of A levels. It can also give you the opportunity to utilise the skills you have to benefit others. You will be able to progress both personally and professionally by experiencing these new opportunities. The possibilities as you have mentioned, can be endless, from working in a bar in Europe, to helping young children to read in Asia.
I can appreciate your concerns, since your mum is against your decision and this made you both row. This must be very tough for you, especially as you seem quite excited at the prospect of working abroad.
Maybe once your mum notices your effort in organising and researching this opportunity she may begin to feel a little better. Many organisations have really informative websites and often hold open days so both you and your mum could find out more about the whole process. There is a Gap Year show in London on 28/29 June that you might be interested in taking your mum to - for more information have a look at the website www.gapyearshow.co.uk. Once your mum finds out a little more, and has the opportunity to ask the organisers themselves a few questions, she may begin to feel a little more reassured.
You say that when you try to bring up the topic, your mum won't even talk about it. Maybe you could give her some time and when you feel able to, you could ask your mum what her concerns are about you completing this gap year. Usually once parents are kept up to date and involved they begin to feel a little more reassured.
Faye's story
Faye is 16 and decided at an early age that she wants to teach. She lives at home with her mum and 2 younger brothers. She has just gone into year 11 and if she does okay in her GCSEs plans to stay on in the school sixth form to take her A levels.
Faye thinks that by then she will be really fed up with schools, studying and revising and if she gets the results she needs at A level she wants to take at least a year out before going on to University. She hasn't decided exactly where she wants to go but knows that she doesn't want to stay in the same place for the year Faye wants to travel around and get away from the touristy places.
If possible Faye would like to volunteer for part of the year and get some experience working with children of different ages. But she also wants to do other things and would be happy to work in a bar or a restaurant.
Faye has talked to her Mum about her plans and she is really against them, they had a big row and lots of horrible things were said. Whenever Faye tries to bring the topic up now her Mum won't even talk about it.
