Too fond of travelling?

LegacyUser

Hi, I am 23 and due to finish college next year. Since I was 20 I have gone travelling every year and these have pretty much been the best times of my life. My whole mindset changed when I first went away and I became suddenly aware that I was longed for other places than home. I decided to return to college and get my degree so as to give myself better opportunities when I finish to live and work abroad. I am going away again this summer and when I finish next year I am considering teaching abroad in Asia.

The thing is most of my friends are already a year or two in to their prospective careers and the thoughts of this alone make me shudder. I am in no way ready to be tied down to a job at home and still feel I have my whole youth to live. I am a responsible enough person for my age but I seem to be completely in love with going abroad and seeing new things. I sort of have this persona where I believe life could end at any time so I wanna be out there doing what I want to do and having fun. I think some people view this however as a lack of responsibility and that I am not accepting the reality that I need to plan for the future. I find it surprising how many of my friends I went to school with are already committed to their careers and perhaps they are more sensible than me. They also love to travel and most likely will at some point but I just can't wait like they can.

People sometime ask me what is my plan for the future and all I can ever tell them is I want to live abroad and work. Even the majority of people in my class who are younger than me are all applying for internships with companies while I am planning my next trip away. I do often think about the future but I am sort of hoping that by travelling and living in new places I will eventually find my 'calling' so to speak. I just know that I am not cut out for the 9-5 office job and the commitment while I am this young. I get very bored very quick and money doesn't motivate me enough as I feel that it is worthless once I am not enjoying life as much as I could be if I was doing something else. Anyway I do worry a bit about applying for jobs when I am older and having nothing on my CV only a list of countries I have lived in. Some people have commented that I will find it hard to get work when I am older if I don't start at something soon and this really frustrates me to be honest. So, am I living in a fantasy world where I am not accepting certain realities and responsibilities, or should I just roll with it and take life as it comes? This is sort of my predicament at the moment.

LegacyUser

I'm 24 and feel the exact same!! I'm in a 9-5 job now that I hate, I'm waiting for my bf to finish collage so we can go travelling! I've been to a few places alreay and Oz for a year, best year of my life! People always say to me too that this is the best time for buyin a house, asking when me and my bf r going to get married etc and I have no interest in doing any of that here!! Why would i waste the rest of my life in Ireland when there is so much more of the world to see! We only live one and like you said, we could be dead tomorrow!!

Op, its your life, live it the way you want to! Dont worry about getting jobs in years to come, tomorrow mite never come!

Best of luck with your travels!

sarmer

Hi OP I totally agree with your mindset!! I've been in your position. I'm 26 now and only beginning to get my career started but I wouldnt change a thing - I've spent most of the past few years either travelling or saving to travel and I've had some amazing experiences! I'm going to be a teacher so it's great I can still travel in the summer!

The thing I figure is that when you are in your 80s and you've got grandkids no one is gonna give a crap whether you started your career at 23, 26 or in your 30s! And i guarantee you that the people who are settling down now will regret it then. I have one friend who has had a steady career since leaving college and a steady boyfriend since college but has never done anything fun. She looks down on me a bit because of my choices but she hates her job yet has no will to change it because she is so settled. I have a feeling she might regret things when she is older.

I always think, what would I regret not doing if I was in my 80s and 90s. I like the idea of being the fun interesting granny whos been skydiving and been to a full moon party and been all around the world. Lifes far too short not to be having some fun if you can and you're only 23!

Enjoy it OP, these are the best years of your life - why bother getting a 9-5 if you travel for a bit!!

cafecolour

You're grand. Travel away.

Working abroad are jobs that go on the CV. You'll likely pick up languages that go on the CV as well.

With your interests, you may well go into a field that involves traveling or foreign relations, in which case your experiences will be a major asset. For that matter, you can certainly make a career out of teaching abroad as well - an uncle and aunt of mine essentially did for 20 years, heading to different countries every few years - even with kids. That might be your career.

People change careers multiple times in their life these days. Your friends in their prospective careers now may be heading to graduate school to train in something totally different 10 years from now.

krudler

More power to ya, whats the point in submitting yourself to an 9-5 office job in your 20's? its probably the most soul destroying thing you can do, same crap every day, same breaktimes, same people at the coffee machine, same bullsh1t office politics, same bitchiness behind peoples backs, turgid hours, it ruins your zest for life. Next time someone comments on your "lack of responsibility" have a laugh at them stuck in 5pm Friday traffic while you're sitting on a beach somewhere, screw what people think, walk your own path in life.

metamorphosis

Great post Krudler. Too true aswell.

LoanShark

When you're on your death bed, Do you honestly think your gonna say "I wish I could have worked more?"

Go and travel as far as you can go! I'm 30 and currently unemployed I did short stint of travel and now I wish I had stayed away much longer but I cant afford to do it now
I didnt want to be a mortage slave either..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI

I last heard this song when I was sitting on a boat in the Whit Sundays.. IT kinda sums alot of thing up!

LegacyUser

Thanks for the inspiring replies guys! I think it is because I am surrounded by a lot of career minded people in college that I sometimes question my own choices. I am always shocked when I ask people like 21 yrs old what they are doing next year after college and they reply "starting with x firm". I respect their choices but this it just sometimes makes me feel like I am perhaps not as responsible as I should be considering I am 2 years older and this is the last thing I am thinking of doing. A lot of my friends my age have done their summer or two away in college and are now all settled in to proper jobs. They obviously all want to and most likely will travel again at some point but for now they are concerned with building for the future. For me though, a summer away in college isn't enough and every time I go somewhere I come back with an even stronger hunger to go again as soon as I can.

I feel a bit silly when I reply to people asking me about my plans after college but I think I am just on a very different wavelength than a lot of the people in my course and since most of them have not travelled much, they probably have not been bitten by the bug just yet. Anyway I respect peoples choices to start their careers young but I just feel that their is so much living to be done out there and some young people are missing out! Then again we are all different and want different things out of life so what do I know? For now though its highway time for me

Thanks again!