What I would do if I were about to graduate from college
If I were graduating from college this year (or potentially even high school, I have some thoughts on the real value of a college degree in this day and age): I wouldn’t try to immediately get a “real job” in my field. And I don’t think I’d try to be an influencer. But I would try to travel the world.
When I look back on my life (as a married mid-30s mom of a toddler with a steady job and a mortgage, and frankly, all of the trappings of a very “normal” suburban life), I mostly feel overwhelming gratitude for the big choices I made and risks I took in my 20s. I feel content with this boring-in-the-best-way life that I’m currently living because I had a lot of years of far-flung, very selfish adventures.
And in my humble opinion, that is what your early 20s are for: be selfish. Take a risk. Get out of your comfort zone. Don’t wait for someone to come with you. I once had a t-shirt that said: quit your job, buy a one-ticket, fall in love, never go back. And you know what, I quite recommend it!
My disclaimer here is to be responsible. I don’t advocate going into debt to travel, and everyone has different family dynamics at play. But don’t let people guilt you into staying still or feel any sort of shame over not immediately getting an entry-level job in your field. You only have one life, and there is one thing I do deeply believe: the deeper you get entrenched in your lifestyle, the harder it is to leave. I would 100% get a job as a waitress and try to make as much money as possible while spending as little money as possible, and set a number that I need to hit to feel comfortable–and then I would hit ze road. Should you need ideas, I have them!
A quick overview of my life from 21 to 24, so you know I have my bonafides: I graduated from college and backpacked through Europe for five weeks. I started off on a Contiki tour (frankly, wasn’t totally my speed but it was helpful to get assimilated) and then did several more cities on my own with a Eurail pass and pre-booked hostels. I came back to California, got an entry-level job in high-tech PR, rented myself a studio in Silicon Valley and thought: I’ve made it! And then I broke up with my college boyfriend a few months later, and thought, wait, why am I still here? So I quit my job, started a blog (voila), moved to France to study French and waitress and work in a cooking school. And then I moved to Australia, where I waitressed for a hot second and then got a job in marketing. I got offered sponsorship, realized that if I didn’t leave Australia then, I would never leave. So I bought a one-way ticket to Bali, and spent three months backpacking solo through Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. I went back to Sacramento to spend time with my grandmother before she died. And then I road tripped through the USA, and ended up in NYC: without a job, without an apartment, but a desire to figure it out. And I got a job, I got an apartment, I met my now-husband and got a pug and built a career in sales and entered all into my middle-class bliss!
Get a working holiday visa in Australia or New Zealand
I love the concept of the working holiday visa, and it is what I recommend to pretty much any twenty-something I meet who doesn’t know what they want to do with their lives. Basically, if you are between 18 and 30 years old (sometimes up to 35 years old), you can take an extended trip and work while you’re there to fund it. Look, Australia and New Zealand are very far away and they are not cheap places to live or explore. But there is SO much to see, there isn’t a language barrier, and they are just the loveliest and most fun people. You can work as a bartender or waitress (which I did!), work on a farm (which I also did), get a seasonal tourism job or get a standard office job. A fun fact: David moved to Australia right after he graduated from college, and worked there for two years at a PR agency! We both have the best memories of our time in Australia, and are so glad we spent some time down under. And the reality is that Australia is very far away (me, writing for an American audience!): if you’re going to go, it’s great to be able to spend some significant time there and to earn in the local currency.
Backpack through Southeast Asia or South America
Perks: the American dollar stretches *far* here, the backpacker trail is well-worn and it kind of just feels like the thing that is really fun in your 20s and gets less feasible as you get older (aka I need better mattresses and more privacy). I can only speak to the Southeast Asia experience, but backpacking South America is the one thing that I regret not doing (especially as an excuse to learn Spanish). I loved Bali, I loved Thailand, I loved Vietnam. I could have spent months upon months in any of them. If I needed to top up some funds, there are so many cool hostels and bars that cater to English speakers that are generally open to hiring backpackers for short-term contracts or in exchange for a free place to stay. Europe is obviously also a possibility to backpack, but it a) is more expensive and b) can be trickier with visas for an extended visit.
Teach English in Asia
I haven’t done this, but it definitely seems like a popular choice to set up as base in Asia, while you’re getting paid–especially great for more expensive countries like Japan or South Korea. Having a college degree in something language-related can be helpful, but not required.
Be a ski bum or a surf bum or a National Park bum
If you don’t have a passport (get one!), there are plenty of adventures one can have within the United States. When I think back on the lives I considered and didn’t live, I always think about the seasonal opportunities to move somewhere and waitress while taking full advantage of immersing myself in the activities on offer: learning to snowboard in Lake Tahoe, surf in Hawaii, rock climb in Zion, hike in Jackson Hole. The reality is that most of these places that are absolutely jaw-droppingly beautiful *need* people to work service jobs, and are always hiring for waitressing, bartending, hotel jobs, tourism activity coordinators (and often times, they’re able to provide free or reduced-cost housing for workers).
Do a big hike
The Pacific Coast Trail, the Appalachian Trail, the Camino de Santiago: there are some really cool big hikes that generally take several months to complete. It can be tough to find the four, six, eight months needed to take off when you have a job, a lease, a life–but what a cool thing to do while you’re young and your legs are young to reflect upon what you’ve achieved so far and think about what you want to accomplish in the future.
