Figuring Out Life the Israeli Way

In the United States we are raised knowing that as soon as we graduate from high school we will go to college and after four years of college (or 8 if we go to grad school) we will be spit out into the work force where we will work hard earning money until our retirement.  Growing up with this knowledge I had just assumed that this is the way things work everywhere in the world.  I was wrong.

In Israel every citizen is drafted into the army when they finish high school and turn 18.  Girls serve for 2 years; boys serve for at least 3 years.  By the time that they get out of the army most Israelis are, on average, just a little younger than we Americans are when we graduate from college.  However, when Israelis are released from the army college is usually the last thing on their minds.  Many post-army Israelis travel the world– the United States, South America, India, Thialand, Australia.  They travel to “find themselves” and to spend time figuring out what they want out of life.  Only when they are 22, 23, 24 or 25 do they even begin to think about going to college.

When I first moved to Israel I was blown away by this phenomenon.  The fact that I had already been out of college and working for two years and that most Israelis my age were just starting to study for their college entrance exams was shocking!  However, the more that I’ve thought about it the more i think that the Israeli way is brilliant.

In my opinion, 18 years olds are way too young to decide what they want to do with their lives.  18 year old freshmen college students are so excited to be away from their parents that they concentrate more on their new independence and social life then they do on their classes.  Such a large percentage of American college students graduate and still have no idea in which direction they want to take their lives.

I don’t think it’s such a bad idea for students to take a little time out after high school to get to know themselves, get used to their new independence and figure out what they really want to learn about.

I studied television production in college and worked in the field for a year and a half before I decided that it wasn’t for me.  I’ve spent the last 2 years living in Israel, “finding myself” and only now am I finally starting to get a faint idea of which direction I want to take my life in at the age of 25– the same age that most Israelis are when they are starting to get their first degree in something that they are certain that they are truly interested in.