well, in 7 months i have decided to quit my job and go to
india for 5 months. is it normal to have second, even third
thoughts about what i am about to do. most of the time, i
am focused and really want to go, i've bought my backpack
and other stuff, i'm really excited, then in a split second
everything changes and i doubt myself and my reasons for
doing this trip. other than spending ALL that money, i
sometimes really worry about not getting on that career
ladder. i am 21, and have no interest in my job at the
moment, so when i come back i will have to start from
scratch, like go to university etc. by the time i am
finished with that i'll be like 27 or something. how
scary!!!! i guess i should just follow my dream and travel
and the rest i'll sort out later. good approach do you
think?
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I can't offer you any advice as to whether leaving your job
to head off travelling is a good one or not - but it's
exactly what I'm doing. Two months from now I will be on a
plane to the UK with a vague plan of finding work and
travelling in between. I too am having similar doubts about
my decision to toss in my (career) job and head off
to Europe. I thought that by booking and paying for my
ticket early (three months ago) would eliminate any feelings
of doubt about going - and it has to an extent. However as
it gets closer to time that I will have to resign from my
job and actually leave, the more doubts I have. I'm also a
fairly shy person at first until I get to know people so
I also have doubts about how I'll cope by myself. But then
I try to reassure myself by looking at the worst scenario
- I go, I hate it and I return home. But really that isn't
that bad - at least I would have gone and experienced it.
It's better than never having gone at all!
You will both be different people when you travel. You will
also find that most of your doubts are groundless. Careers
just tie you to the mundane.
Simone,
I am pushing 30 with a great force and i have just got back from a year away. This September i am going to start a three year course at University, which will make me 33 when I start my climb to the dissy heights of the career ladder. I believe that travelling is the very best thing anybody (especially a woman can do) Without wanting to sound condescending in any way, you are only young and have decades ahead of you. Dont ever let anyone tell you otherwise. DO IT and ENJOY!!
Simone,
I am pushing 30 with a great force and i have just got back from a year away. This September i am going to start a three year course at University, which will make me 33 when I start my climb to the dissy heights of the career ladder. I believe that travelling is the very best thing anybody (especially a woman can do) Without wanting to sound condescending in any way, you are only young and have decades ahead of you. Dont ever let anyone tell you otherwise. DO IT and ENJOY!!
I'm 35 and spent most of my 20s travelling and doing short-
term jobs overseas, now I have the "career" and to be
honest there's nothing special about it. The financial
security is nice, but I've always had a roof over my head,
even when it was only canvas! Some people find what they
want to do for the rest of their lives when they're 20,
others just don't. It's never too late, people all around
me are making career and/or lifestyle changes at 30, 40,
even 50. Anything can happen, I have friends who thought
they had a secure job and a happy marriage and the next
year they were divorced and redundant. I don't want to
depress anybody, my message is just that if you want to go
to India, go. Don't use the "career" myth as a reason not
to.
Don't let the 'starting a career late' business worry you - these days tonnes of people switch careers at all stages of life, and usually for less interesting reasons than travelling.
DON'T let the idea of going to university in your mid-20's worry you at all - I went back to uni at age 26. You get a lot more out of it if you're a bit older.
someday you're going to be 27 anyway, whether you travel or
not. IF YOU GO NOW at that point you will have so many
special memories to look back on - and won't be thinking
'wish I had gone when I had the chance'. Who ever looks
back and wishes they had spent more time at a job that they
hate? It's hackneyed and often said, but so true... IF YOU
DON'T GO you will still be 27, working at a job or starting
uni and putting off travel even further. I'm 27 now and
have always waited until I had a degree, then a graduate
degree, then a job, then extra money... before I took a
trip. Well, my contract is ending soon, I have lots of
cash and I'm just going to do it! So maybe I 'll run into
to you on the trail.. Have fun and go for it!
Why wouldn't you want to go if you are in a boring job and
don't have a degree? Money is everywhere, but time is
short. This mind blowing trip may lead you onto a "career"
(i hate that word) path that you would never discover back
at home. And please remember, a career doesn't always
require a degree. Make your travels your education. A
university will always take your money no matter how old
you are. Most importantly my friend, you are only going
away for 5 months!! 5 months of eye-opening travelling is
worth more than 5 months behind a desk (be it in the office
or at the university). Nothing behind a desk could possibly
compare to experiencing the world outside your window. Take
care and journal it! But if what I've already said doesn't
convince you think of this: you don't go to India..you go
to school instead.. all day long you sit in class, doodling
as your professer goes on and on about something completely
dull..then you think of india..the smells, the people, the
heat..next thing you know your smiling and class time fly's
by........Or would you rather not go and just keep kicking
yourself under the desk and wish you really knew something
about india?
GO FOR IT.....FOR ME TRAVELLING WAS THE BEST DECISION I
EVER MADE, I HAVE HAD A LIFE TIME OF LAUGHTER IN THE LAST
YEAR, MADE SOME OF THE BEST FRIENDS AND SEEM SOME OF THE
MOST FANTASTIC PLACES IN THE WORLD........YOU WILL
DEFFINATELY HAVE NO REGRETS....GO AHEAD AND BOOK YOUR
TICKET NOW!!!!!!!
...to get on the career ladder! like everyone else says, go
travelling and have fun and gain experience & perspective.
there will always be PLENTY of time to get on the career
track later, if that's what you want. good luck!!
I think I know exactly how you feel - as I went travelling
when I was 21. During the trip I kept thinking about what
things would be like, when I got back home - if I chose the
right thing to study at the university, where I was going
to live etc. etc? I wish I hadn┤t spent that much time on
thinking about home, when I was travelling, because now I
see that my journey (to South East Asia) was the best thing
I ever did! When I got home, I started "climbing the
ladder" - and after a few years, I realized that I was
going in the wrong direction. Now I┤m 24. In 2 months I┤ll
be travelling again (India - I can┤t wait!!!), and when I
come back I start from scratch; which means I┤ll be 29 (!)
before I finish. But to tell you the truth: This time I┤m
not worried. Travelling is the best thing you can do for
yourself before you go back to the books. And remember,
your money are meant for things like that! You won┤t regret
a single penny spent on your trip! And now is definetely
the time to go before you get to be a poor student!
Feel free to mail me, if you have any questions?