My interests were far different... but at 17, found myself living on a tropical island, so also took a year off before college, during which I learned to weld, and built a large floating stainless steel dock, by myself.
Also built (from the sidewalks to the windvane), equipped, and managed a SCUBA diving store, became a SCUBA diving instructor, and spent huge quantities, hundreds of hours, of my off time communing with the creatures under the waves, both day and night.
Met a lot of interesting people, and learned a lot that has served me well later in life... lessons that I don't think would have been as easily accessible without that pairing of a focused non-academic interest... and dedicated time... along with a known end point.
Would be close to lying if I ignored mentioning boats, beaches, girls and bottles of rum... each also providing life lessons that have proven essential to future successes... and, in a few instances, survival.
I can't imagine, now, going straight off to school, instead, and having missed all of that... but, instead showed up to school having already learned to learn by immersion... <g>
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