Just looking for advice on what you think would be the best step for me, (just confused as hell....)
Hey.. k well I guess what my question is if I am holding onto a dream of traveling the world and seeing whats really out there, is the right thing to do or not... I turned 22 this year and my family and some of my friends are saying I need to get back into school and forget about traveling and get working towards a career and all that stuff. Were other family members and friends are saying that my travel ideas are great and to just worry about everything later on.. Both have good points and views.. I want what both have to offer and can understand both sides on what they say as "being" the best for me, so I guess my question is just what do you think, what did you do, just any advice or what you think would be cool really....
Reply to this do it, youll regret it if you dont.
Memories are far better than dreams.
Im 32 and considering giving up everything later this year for a few months travelling before i settle down again.
People and friends want what they 'think' is best for you, only you truely know what is best for you. Do it.
Reply to this I was supposed to spend the summer after college graduation traveling before I started working. I ended up graduating early (December of that year) at the last minute and since it was unexpected, I had no job lined up, no money and no travel plans set yet. I decided I probably should start looking for a job and ended up finding one that required me to start in two weeks and felt I had no choice. I regret almost nothing in my life, but this is one thing that I would do differently if I had to do over. Take the chance to travel while you can because you never know where life may lead you and who knows when you'll get the chance again. If you have the resources or have the way of getting by without them, I say travel! You have the rest of your life for school, work and other obligations!
Reply to this Hello Jason 😊
Career and school are not everything. Isnt that exactly the response you expected to get on a travel site? :D
I think the important thing is to balance ones life. You are very young and dont have responsibilites of children, mortgages(at least I presume you dont) etc so now is an ideal time for you to spend a large chunk of time travelling in my opinion.
Schools and jobs will still be there when you come back. I did not get my first professional job until I was 28. I did other things before that like moving to another country and travelling a lot which I financed with working in unskilled jobs.
Whatever you choose, your life will work out one way or another just like mine did and is still in the process of doing.
Mel
Reply to this ha ya I guess that is kind of the response that I was expecting mell.. but you are all right. I can already think of things that I regret that I let pass me by. I do have the option to do it now and probably won't later on... I guess what it comes down to is what is going to make me the most happy in this life. sure a career and school would be fun, don't get me wrong, but the chance of meeting more amazing people and the places I could see is something that I don't want to pass up... Thanks Richard, Maya and Mel... Now I just have to start saving again...
Reply to this You can have a career and school and travel.
You dont have to choose between them. More like you have to get good at juggling everything in your life when you want a lot.
Mel
Reply to this Hi again Jason. As I mentioned, I agree with everyone else and think you should totally go for it. However, if you are really not sure about having the money, time, etc, Mel's last comment made me think of another option that could be a good middle ground. If you want to kind of combine things, what about doing several study abroad programs? When I was a junior in college I studied in Australia for a semester. Granted I did have to do school work, but since other countries get so much more holiday (vacation) time than we do in the US (and I'm speaking from an American perspective, sorry not sure where you're from), I got to travel all over Australia and then to New Zealand after my semester was over. Many of my classmates there traveled to Indonesia, Thailand and South Africa during their semester because they were much closer to these destinations than they are in the U.S. So you could always look into doing several study abroad programs and even one or two of the shorter summer programs. If you plan out the locations so that they are in different areas of the world, you could really get to see a lot and not feel like you "should" be doing school instead. Again, I am a total advocate for the year of travel and personally feel you'll learn much more doing that than you would at any school or job but this may be another option for you as well. Just my additional thoughts!
Reply to this I was thinking about what everyone was saying about school and regretting it, how it makes your grow and look at things different. I'm not really even a hundred percent sure that the program that I want to take in school is really what I want to do... I can think of a lot of people, (i'm sure everyone here can to) that went to school and either dropped out or finished and does not like it and is now going back for something else. So me or anyone else.. taking the time to travel now and see these things, as well as to grow as a person and find what I really like and don't like, would probably be money better spent then going when I am not sure thats the career I even want... I really like your idea Maya about studying in different parts of the world and traveling around them. Not only would I be getting my education out of it, but I would also be meeting the people from that place and would get to experience what there life there is like more then I would any other way.. I'm from canada so.. its pretty much the same for vacation time as the us... Thank you Maya and Mel
Reply to this Both travelling and education are money well spent, in my opinion. 😊
Maybe you can defer you college course for a year. That is what I did about my university place when I decided to travel.
Mel
Reply to this GIBBY the biggest education you will get is when you travel. You go through different cultures, languages, currencies, landscape.
I am 22 and have traveled to over 23 countries, and this year I will be visiting another 25.
Reply to this Thanks everyone.. I think I have pretty much made up my mind (with all your help and input) that once I get the money saved up that I am going to take off for a while and do some traveling, thanks for all your input.. J
Reply to this Jason, I guess I'm in a similar situation to yourself. Although I am not in education, I am in my first full time job which pays very well for my age (20).
Most of my family keep advising that I go to Uni and study for a career, but I have decided there is more to life at our young ages than to be settling down and living a boring planned life.
So what I decided is that I'm going to start living life 'in the moment' and 'for today'. I'm leaving in September for an unknown amount of time, I guess until I run out of money or miss home, but I'm not making plans for my future.
Yes part of me still wants to go to Uni and study, but I can do that when/if I come back! Education is available to anyone at any age, and the same goes with employment. Jobs are always going to be available when you come back.
If traveling really is your dream, then do what I am doing, just go for it. Don't worry about what happens when you come back, who cares, figure that out when your back! My mum keeps saying to me what it will be like when I come home, not having a car, not having a job, not having money... and shes quite shocked when I keep saying 'I'm not concerned about it'. Any why.... because I know that I can get all that back with a little hard work... just like you can with education if its for you.
Hope this helps, I babbled on a little...
Take care!
Reply to this there isnothing wrong in traveling after all travels tend to give one wisdom, that said, keep in mind that if you are only intent on traveling and not finishing college, then you may well not get that dream job, so i guess you need to balance the two.
Reply to this HELLOO GIBBY !
You have 22, i understund you want make a travell bat some your friend ad fammily are not agree that ideea. If, are on your possibility for make one travell, i sugested to make that in one saffety places ONLY on your vacancy or mybe on the free time. DON'T LOST THE YEARS OF SCHOOL and choice to study on - mybe university . For make one travell, make from your tourism agency hotel reservation, and i sugested for visited EUROPE - FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, GERMANY, AUSTRIA . Three-four nights one every country. From USA ( if are leave in USA) come with the plane and continous with train. I have 42 y age, and on that year i make one EUROPEAN SOLITAIRE TOUR only with the train. I go from my country - Romania - to: VIENNA in AUSTRIA, ZURICH, ZERMATT, GENEVE in SWITZERLAND ( 5 NIGHTS ), PARIS, MARSEILLE in FRANCE ( 5 NIGHTS, BRUXELLES in BELGIUM, AMSTERDAM in HOLLAND, COLOGNE, DUSSELDORF, HAMBURG, MUNCHEN in GERMANY ( 10 NIGHTS). With the train , never i travell on economic class. Only on the BUSSINES CLASS with all trains ( TGV, ICE, EUROSTAR, NIGHT-TRAINS EXPRESS ).
If not believe, see that adres on the web site of travell & art fotography: http://www.trekearth.com/members/nemesiss/photos/Europe/Austria/
http://www.trekearth.com/members/nemesiss/photos/Europe/Germany/
http://www.trekearth.com/members/nemesiss/photos/Europe/Greece/
http://www.trekearth.com/members/nemesiss/photos/Europe/Switzerland/
That are make on last year.
With my gratitude, IULIAN
Reply to this You can travel at any age but do it now while you don't have a house, kids, spouse, career, and other responsibilities tying you down. I am 35 and just starting to travel. I have regretted not doing so much earlier. I have always wanted to see the world but gave into my parents "be practical" argument. Go! Now is the perfect time!
Reply to this I think what Richard Warrell says is spot on....
Memories are far better than Dreams!!!!!!
Reply to this this thread is quite old now so not sure if it's still relevant - I would say it's NEVER a bad idea to go travelling! I went travelling for the first time long term when I was 38 - way older than you! I sold my flat, gave up my job, left everything behind. Most people were really supportive of me doing it, others thought I was mad and irresponsible and stupid. I knew it was something I needed to do, it had been gnawing away at me for years and kept popping up, and I kept finding reasons why I couldn't or shouldn't. In the end I needed life to give me a huge kick up the a**e, by making things so difficult at home, that I was almost forced into it - it was the best thing I ever did and has changed my life around in so many ways, I couldn't even begin to describe it. I would say if something inside you is telling you to go, GO! Don't question it, don't worry too much about the future - things have a way of working themselves out if you listen to yourself. It can only enrich and support your life to go, so do it!
Reply to this Thanks everyone, its nice that you are all still posting on this, all of your replies have helped me to make up my mind to travel and that you are still posting on here, has been a reminder for me to save the money to go and not spend it on stupid shit...(beer and nights out) which i seem to do... I know you are right deb, because I have been doing the same thing, finding reason why I should not be doing this, listening to what other people have been saying and not what I want for my life and you are all right, memories of doing it would be a hell of a lot better then dreams of what it could be.... Thanks everyone
Reply to this I'm glad to see you decided to travel. I had the dream too when I was younger, but I chose the path of family and career. I will be turning 50 next year and I have decided to get my dream back now that the kids are on their own. For us cost and time has always been the factor holding us back. So we looked into traveling as travel agents and receiving tremendous discounts with FAM trips. My husband is completing his studies and we have purchased an online travel agency. So now he can have the career that we can work from anywhere in the world. Travel is our business. Our trips are tax deductible and we get paid when our friends and family travel with us and book through our site. It is a win-win situation for us. Good luck and stay focused!
Reply to this That certainly does sound like a win win situation Sherry. It is truely inspiring what some people do. 😊
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