The idea for moving from the American South to a post-Soviet village in eastern Ukraine was born after a two-week visit to Ukraine in high school. As David was nearing the end of high school, his seventeen-year-old brain did not screen out the "should nots" and "could nots" society drives into us all. Instead, he desired to move to a vastly different environment and work to help Ukrainian orphans. So, after buying a one-way ticket, David moved to the other side of the world for nine months. Throughout Gap Year, David brings the reader into his deepest thoughts and experiences. While living in Ukraine, he kept a detailed journal which served as a springboard for this book. Read along and experience what it feels like to be a young man in a distant land. In the end, David hopes you will dedicate time in your life to doing something wild and against the grain.