A woman is taking a solo gap year at the age of 31 - and wants to "break" the "expectation" that it's too late.<br /><br />India Jolly had always wanted to travel around south east Asia but every time she had the savings to go she ended up going back to university to study instead.<br /><br />She realised her short attention span was a symptom of ADHD, after seeing other women talking about it on TikTok, and was officially diagnosed in August 2022.<br /><br />After taking a fixed term maternity cover job as a curator at a museum she used the opportunity to save to travel and booked her flights before she could change her mind.<br /><br />India saved £11,000 for the trip and jetted off to Bangkok, Thailand, in June 2024.<br /><br />She hopes to spend four months travelling round Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam before heading to Australia for a year on a working visa.<br /><br />India, from Plymouth, Devon, said: "It's something I have wanted to do since I was 20.<br /><br />"It something that's always been in the back of my mind.<br /><br />"Whenever I have had the opportunity to save to go travelling I have gone back to university. <br /><br />"It still feels quite surreal."<br /><br />India got the bug for travelling after spending five weeks in America after graduating from her history undergrad in 2016.<br /><br />After spotting an elephant sanctuary on social media she had her heart set on travelling to Asia.<br /><br />But India struggled to save - which she now links to her ADHD diagnosis.<br /><br />She said: "I was getting bored really quick.<br /><br />"I started my masters degree in history and finished in 2019.<br /><br />"Then it was the pandemic. I wasn't having a good time so I went back to university again.<br /><br />"I did a masters in heritage in 2020."<br /><br />India was diagnosed with ADHD at aged 30.<br /><br />She said: "I was seeing loads of videos with women with ADHD.<br /><br />"I thought 'I think I have that'."<br /><br />India's diagnosis was "validating" and helped her understand why she is compulsive, experiences burnout easily and why she feels emotions strongly.<br /><br />After securing a job for a year she knew she had to take the plunge this time and booked a flight before she could change her mind.<br /><br />She spent the year planning and saving and set off on her travels in June 2024.<br /><br />India hasn't booked anything past the first few weeks in case she makes friends on her way and changes her route slightly.<br /><br />She said: "I'm excited to go to Chiang Rai to see the temples.<br /><br />"In Cambodia I want to do Angkor Wat.<br /><br />"And they have these giant rats that are trained to find unexploded bombs.<br /><br />"I have a big list of museums.<br /><br />"I just love learning things."<br /><br />India wants to inspire people to go travelling no matter their age.<br /><br />She said: "There are so many assumptions.<br /><br />"It's assumed people with ADHD can't get degrees.<br /><br />"It's assumed at 30 you have to be married with children not travelling around.<br /><br />"I'm trying to break those expectations.<br /><br />"Societal pressures are in our head."
