Is it even worth arguing?

So I just graduated last year, took a year off to save up more money and am heading to Europe for 4months at the end of December. Pretty much everyone i talk to says something along the lines of "i wish i was doing that" but then there are the few who are totally against it and im bombarded with arguments like:

"are you even thinking about the future, your going to be a light year behind everyone else thats going to school"

"going back to school after taking such a long break is going to be more difficult"

"Why not wait you can still travel while in college or when you have a career"

"why do 13 years of school, take a year off then come back for another 4-8 years"

"why waste 12 grand for just a short amount of happiness"

"Its better to go to college, graduate in 4 years, and get a job then have all the fun you want when you have a high paying income:

I think thats enough, get my point? and there is almost no arguing with these people. Is it even worth it?

Not worth arguing. But if you must...

quote:

Originally posted by VicBC:
"are you even thinking about the future, your going to be a light year behind everyone else thats going to school"

Light year behind in what? The education you get while traveling you can't get anywhere else.

quote:

Originally posted by VicBC:
"going back to school after taking such a long break is going to be more difficult"

There will always be excuses to not go. "Taking a year off before grad school is going to be difficult", etc.

quote:

Originally posted by VicBC:
"Why not wait you can still travel while in college or when you have a career"

Others things might come up later that prevents you from going. Besides, who can guarantee who will have good health, the money, lack of other responsibilities down the road?

quote:

Originally posted by VicBC:
"why do 13 years of school, take a year off then come back for another 4-8 years"

Only sheep would say something like this.

quote:

Originally posted by VicBC:
"why waste 12 grand for just a short amount of happiness"

Short amount? The happiness and memories will last you a lifetime. Plus, you will most likely come back a as a more well-rounded person.

quote:

Originally posted by VicBC:
"Its better to go to college, graduate in 4 years, and get a job then have all the fun you want when you have a high paying income:

Yup, do all that so that you can came back to exactly where you are right now. You already have what you need.

I wish I had travelled before going to university. I would have been more mature, and would have had a better idea of what I wanted in life. Maybe I still wouldn't have managed to get a diploma (I didn't now), but the odds would've been higher, I think. So if you must argue, you can use that as an argument.

Ive used as many arguments that i can think of, including what people have told me about their trips(even a family friend who knew exactly what he wanted to be when he came back)

No point in trying to convince people who dont want to travel, or they want to once they have a lot of money. It seems school/high paying job/career is more important to them.

Whatever works i guess.

I know that very few of my friends have the same priorities that I do in life. Most just want to make lots of money, date someone hot, have a nice house and car, etc. Frankly, I’ve learn to avoid the subject of travel in conversations.

I have friends who think I’m wasting money.
I have friends who think I am ruining my career.
I have friends who’ve told me that I was going to get robbed or killed – multiple times before trips.

It’s not that I have bad friend. For the most part, they are just looking out for me. They are right. I’m probably not on the best path to achieve the things that they value (career or money). What they haven't realize is that I really don't care about having a nice house or fancy car.

Then there are the friends that you have to be careful of. By careful, I mean careful not to hurt their feelings. Some of my friends would love to travel but cannot for one reason or another (usually financial). Talking about travel just reminds them of things they can't do. I try not to rub my travels in their face – take my word for it, it can be quite a bitter subject.

Not really worth arguing. I have many friends with different priorities, but no friends who can't accept our differences. I kinda figure that people who are too insecure to accept a different set of priorities aren't really worth talking to.

quote:

"are you even thinking about the future, your going to be a light year behind everyone else thats going to school"

Wrong. Trust me. I went to school right after high school. Like most people my first program did not turn out to be the one for me (from my experience, I'd estimate at least half of people will change their degree program from what they started with). Unlike most people I was too stubborn to admit it. After spending 3.5 years in school, plus one year in the middle out of school, I gave up on that one. That's a lot of money wasted and I have very little to show for it.

And you'll be what? One year, two behind your classmates from HS. This is nothing in the real world. You've got a good 40-45 years of work ahead of you...starting a couple years later won't make any difference.

(Also, I think that people who enjoy their life as they go along are less concerned about getting to retirement as young as possible, since that's not your first and only chance to enjoy yourself).

quote:

"going back to school after taking such a long break is going to be more difficult"

It's not the break, it's the lifestyle. Going back to school after some years off is great. You have a better idea of why you're going to school, more than "that's just what you do." And at least for me, I find that while the grind still gets me down, but that I have more in my life than just school, so it doesn't feel so bad.

The challenge is, as always, money. If you work for a couple years and get into a typical working lifestyle, with a mortgage and responsibilities, then it's hard. I can only go to school part time, because I simply can't afford to not work. If however, all you're doing is saving up for travel, traveling, and then coming back in basically the same position as you would have been straight out of HS, then it makes no financial difference.

quote:

"Why not wait you can still travel while in college or when you have a career"

'Cause you can't, not really. Traveling while going to school is tough, unless all your student-related expenses are picked up by mom & dad. Students don't have money. Once you have a career, you can get vacation, but taking a serious trip like what you're talking about poses the same risks as when you're young (have to give up your career), and is more challenging because of mortgages, bills, maybe kids, blah blah blah.

quote:

"why do 13 years of school, take a year off then come back for another 4-8 years"

Why do 17-21 years of school straight? What kind of argument is that. Taking time off in the middle is helpful in deciding where you should be.

quote:

"why waste 12 grand for just a short amount of happiness"

Why waste $6k per year on tuition when you're not sure you're in the right program? Yet a lot of the people making this argument will probably change programs after a year or two, requiring them to more or less start over. Both school and travel provide experiences that will last a lifetime. I would go so far as to say school has much more negative experiences in the mix when compared to traveling.

quote:

"Its better to go to college, graduate in 4 years, and get a job then have all the fun you want when you have a high paying income:

If your friends think they'll get a high paying job right after they graduate then they either:
- are deluded, or
- have family connections that will get them a great job whether they finish school in 4 years or 10.
Seriously, some professional programs will do better, but if someone graduates with a liberal arts, general science or general business degree, they're going to start in the $35k-$45k range, same as everyone else.

It can be hard when you encounter people trying to argue something so utterly wrong. They've already formed an ill-informed opinion and they won't be easily, if at all, persuaded.

Best to aviod the subject with them if you can.

I was a smart kid who fucked off in high school and got poor grades. I took a year off, worked a crap job and traveled overseas. In that year I learned alot about life. More so than my peers. I was light years ahead of them now, not behind. I went to school and got a 4.0 taking 21 credits. I wouldn't have done that if it weren't for the year off.

Travel teaches you alot. And much all of what you learn while on the road are lessons not taught in a classroom. Go, explore, roam....

quote:

It's not the break, it's the lifestyle.

well said.

you can't spend your whole life planning for something, or comparing yourself to others. who really cares if traveling will "put you behind"? it's a self-made concept...and the people who are measuring and counting these things are probably not very happy.

and remember...when it comes to everything in life and the difficult choices we have to make...."only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly" -robert f. kennedy

don't focus so much on the potential losses. you have nothing to lose but life itself. life is short. do what you really want because no one is guranteed a tomorrow.

quote:

Originally posted by travis:


I was a smart kid who fucked off in high school and got poor grades.

my life story right there, i look back at highschool and i see all these people getting scholarships, and i know for a fact I could of been one of those people.

But instead i chose to take the spare blocks, i only had two classes last for the last term of highschool, i dont regret only taking two classes, highschool was the best time of my life.

I do sometimes wonder what I would be doing now if i did get a scholarship, i probably wouldn't be traveling, so im taking that opportunity to travel and maybe i will take my future more seriously when i get back.

Everyone brings up very good points, however, I must bring up the most basic and only valid point. While it might sound as cliche as it gets, you shouldn't care what other people think. The decision to travel is something that should be made by you alone, and should not be influenced by what other people perceive it to be.

I, sadly, can not claim to be a great round the world traveler, yet. However I already understand that I am not traveling for anyone else besides myself. What other people think about my plans or the decisions I make are merely advice that I take, acknowledge, but ultimately decide for myself.

Don't waste time convincing others what you dream of doing is okay or not different. This very forum and the experiences shared is proof enough in itself that you can travel and can live the same lives as others. When you travel, where you travel, with whom you travel, and most importantly why you travel is not something that anyone else can tell you, you just know.

There will always be people who criticize what you do, no matter what it is that you're doing. That's my experience on the matter anyway.

Personally I just listen to the criticisms enough to realize they're not actually being sensible and move on with things. Life's too short to spend it doing what others want you to do!

To a degree, I can see their point. As you get older, your life will get much more complicated and it will be harder to make yourself go back to school. And going to college really is the best way to go in the long term.

That being said, I see the value of travel as well. You are right that the traveling will make you a much more mature person and all that.

So what's the right way to go here? Beats me! I went to college right out of high school and am very, very, VERY glad I did. But then again, I might have been just as glad I had traveled - if I had done that. You'll have to decide for yourself.

quote:

"why waste 12 grand for just a short amount of happiness"

Hmm, I wonder how many people who say that wouldn't think twice about wasting three times that much on a car that loses 20% of its value the second they drive it off the lot.

My year traveling around the world was worth every penny I spent on it.

If you want to travel, you should do it and take advantage of every minute!

My dream was to take a gap year after high school and travel Australia... but that wasn't the normal thing to do, and I didn't get any support from my family. Instead I went straight to university - HATED IT - ended up changing my major and then half-assing it as fast as I could just to get it all done and over with! Then I ended working a job that had nothing to do with my major until finally I started traveling...

which is what i'm still doing... and I find that I have learned more in my travels than I ever did in university. So far I've done an archaeological dig, studied Russian and Spanish, and am now working as an English teacher in Ukraine. It has been crazy, but I have been able to experience so much now and am actually looking forward to the day I return for graduate study.

Go, travel! :-)

quote:

Originally posted by VicBC:


"Why not wait you can still travel while in college or when you have a career"

?

Because then you won't be put into the situation my girlfriend and I are in, which is to give up great jobs and very solid income in order to take our trip.

Believe me, once you have a "real job" it's that much tougher to travel the way we on this board mean it. You have salaries and condos and 401ks and relationships and worries that you won't find something as good and so on and so on.

I would had plans to travel before working but couldn't due to a medical issue, and now I'm realizing how much more difficult it is now that I am established in my professional position.