Great kickoff to my gap year

I wanted to take a gap year to volunteer independently, but after I graduated at 16 with zero travel experience in the developing world, my parents insisted that I start off with a structured program and offered to help fund it. I picked Carpe Diem because I liked their values and the fact that I could go to 4 different countries in just 3 months and get to scuba dive! My semester taught me so much, especially how to work with 12 people who were really different from me and turn them into a family. The curriculum rotates logistical duties among the students every week, so I got practice in booking transportation and hostels too that was really helpful for when I set out on my own. The Spanish schools were usually 1 on 1 and amazing, and we went on fun trips all the time based on what our group's interests were. It was a phenomenal 3 months and I recommend it to anyone who wants a little support on their gap year but still wants some freedom to do awesome things. Only con was that our service projects were not very meaningful even though the organizations themselves were doing good work.