Using travel to figure out (or clarify) what you want to do with your life

I recently got the following message in my inbox, from a reader in Pennsylvania named Vanessa. She writes:

Have you ever felt like you’re suffocating, living the day-to-day life that everyone lives with work and coming home and doing it all over again? I have since I began college 3 years ago. I’m taking baking and pastry arts, and I haven’t finished yet. I want my own business eventually, but I need a more opened-up point of view. I love traveling, and I want to travel Europe and feel the freedom of travel, without a destination in particular. The idea of this eats at me every day. Do you think this is crazy and thoughtless? Any ideas from your own experience?

Aye, questions like this are the reason I wrote Vagabonding, so this is what I told Vanessa:

I know exactly what you mean when you talk about the ongoing cycle of work that seems to be a fixture in American life. I felt the same way in college, and that’s why I resolved to travel when I was still young. I’ve been out of college for over ten years now, but I am still traveling!

This is not to say that everyone must travel for years and years, but I AM saying that if you’re interested in traveling the world, now is pretty much the best time to do it. If you’ve dreamed of wandering around Europe, you should probably make the dream happen, or it will bother you for the rest of your life!

Moreover, traveling — especially in Europe — will give you a broader perspective of the world, and can help inform and enhance your career in baking and pastry arts (since such disciplines were practically invented in Europe).

So now I’d just concentrate on finishing college — but while you’re doing so, start researching your Europe adventure, both online and in the library. Find out your options, how to save money, what to see, and how to best investigate your interests as you travel. Get a copy of my book, Vagabonding, if you haven’t already, as it can help set your mind for travel.