What I Learned During My "Gap" Year(s)
One thing I learned is that kids are smarter now. When I left college after my sophomore year we weren't smart enough to call it a gap year, which sounds oh so very well-planned out. I simply told people that I was "taking some time off to travel", which was technically correct. I didn't really elaborate other than to say that I wasn't sure when I'd be going back to school, but that I would someday. I just knew that I was looking for something different, having grown up and spent my entire first 20 years in North Dakota.
When I stepped off the plane in Hamburg, Germany (why Hamburg? cheapest airfare I could find) I had a Let's Go Europe guidebook and absolutely no plan. And I never felt more alive in my life! Eventually I don't think I had ever felt more tired, as it took me about 3 hours to finally understand (in my jet-lagged and non-German speaking state of mind) how to get to the local youth hostel.
But I did get to that youth hostel. Which was the first step in what would turn out to be 2 separate backpacking trips to Europe, with a stay on a Kibbutz in Israel sandwiched in between. To fund my various trips, I spent my 20's working a number of jobs including dishwasher, waiter, bartender, frozen food delivery driver, olive farm laborer, and blackjack dealer.
I eventually returned to college at the age of 27 and got my bachelor's degree at 29. And while at times I envied my friends who were already established in careers while I was still finding mine, I now realize that I learned many things during my travels that were applicable throughout my life.
What Traveling Taught Me About Life and Business
Some Planning is Helpful (Always Pack a Towel): When I finally staggered into that youth hostel for a long-awaited shower, I realized that I hadn't packed a towel. I thought to myself, "This is off to an ominous start."
Lesson? Have a big-picture plan.
Be Flexible (A Shirt Makes a Fine Towel): Once I toweled off with that shirt, I realized that everything was going to be just fine. Fantastic, actually! My notions of how my trip would unfold became completely unbounded by any prior expectations.
Lesson? Know that your career plan will change. And relish the uncertainty.
Be Absolutely Fearless (Step Off the Plane): To try is to have already succeeded. You will learn far more than you could ever have imagined. And trying (and learning from our experiences) becomes easier each time. To quote Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (the first female head of state in Africa), "If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough."
Lesson? You can achieve FAR more than you ever imagined you could. Really.
Your Attitude is Everything (A Smile is the Universal Language): The best thing I ever packed on any of my trips, or throughout my life, has been a smile. There have been numerous studies done on the power of first impressions and how quickly someone makes as assessment of you. I can't think of a better first impression.
Lesson? A positive attitude becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
There is Dignity in all Work (Slice the Onions): Regardless of the task at hand, whether it's slicing onions in the kitchen of a kibbutz, working on an olive farm on Crete, or preparing for a quarterly board presentation, all work can become a cause for joy if you view the task as a privilege.
Lesson? Appreciate the task at hand. It will lead to other opportunities.
The Journey is the Destination (Your Trip Itinerary WILL Change): Regardless of what your journey will entail, allow yourself to embrace that fact our careers (and our lives) do not progress in a straight line. And that the key is to be open to all of the peaks and valleys, learning and struggling, laughter and tears, and the love and heartbreak along the way. Put another way (in a quote attributed to John Lennon), "Life is what happens while we're busy making other plans."
Lesson? Embrace every point in your career - however unexpected!
Hope we cross paths during our respective journeys - I'll try to remember a towel :)
