American high schoolers … go backpacking
This is a letter to American high school students that I wish I had read when I was 16/17/18 years old.
When I was 17 years old I was applying to college to study who knows what because that’s what everyone around me was doing. From my high school there was basically one path you could take and that was college.
Later on in my life when I went traveling I learned that there are many different paths in life. European kids from Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, and England take these paths each and every day.
If I had known these paths existed it probably would have changed my life.
Here’s a letter to my younger self. To kids like me who don’t really wanna go to college, but don’t know any other option.
The Letter
Dear High School Students,
You guys are 16 and 17 years old right now, and you’re thinking about what you’re gonna do once you graduate. And for 99% of you … it’s college. That’s what everyone does, right?
What if I told you there’s another path.
In Germany, England, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, and many other countries – it’s very common to take a gap year after high school, get a job, save up, then go traveling for a few months.
Backpacking.
You’ll meet people from all around the world like yourself. You’ll see new places, and you’ll learn a ton. Plus, it’s not even expensive! You only need to save up a couple thousand dollars.
You can stay at hostels, which are kind of like “community hotels” for young people. There’s rooms with 4-8 beds in them, and common space for everyone to hang out. It’s totally normal to show up by yourself, meet people along the way, and travel with them if you want. (you’ll want to)
Beds could be anywhere from $8 – $25 a night, and most people try to cook their food in the hostel kitchen to save money.
Where should you go?
This kind of thing happens all over the world. There’s networks of hostels in pretty much every country. But for people fresh out of high school, the most common places are Central/South America and Southeast Asia. Both are awesome.
You’ll learn a TON about how the world works.
- You’ll be shocked at how expensive college is in Germany. (its free)
- How many Dutch people you’ll meet. (The Netherlands must have 100’s of millions of people!)
- How much Swedish people worry about healthcare. (never)
- How middle class Swiss/Germans don’t plan to EVER go to college, but instead will learn a trade like electrician or plumber. (but those people are poor in the US!)
You’ll learn a ton.
Why should you do this?
Do you really know what you want to do with your life when you haven’t experienced anything yet? All you’ve done so far is whatever the adults in your life have told you to do.
This will be your first chance to learn about the world. See what you like. Take some time off from school.
The way people do things in this town, and this country seem normal now, but they definitely won’t once you start traveling and meeting people from other countries. This will open your mind and show you what’s out there.
I would bet a lot of money that what you think you want to do with your life now will change once you go on this trip.
How do people save up?
In European countries, its very common to take a gap year after high school, work for 6 months, live at home, then go traveling for a few months before starting university. You could do anything.
- Substitute teacher
- Barista
- Construction worker
- Retail
It doesn’t really matter. You’re young – any job is fine, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Just tell people you’re saving up for a few months so you can go traveling and see the world.
Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Some more reasons to go traveling
- You’re 18 years old. Your brain (especially if you’re a boy) is not fully developed. What you want now is not what you’ll want when you’re 25. Go traveling, learn, grow, meet people from around the world, then decide what it is that you want to do with your life. Why would you invest money in a degree that you’re not even sure you want?
- Traveling will give you a greater appreciation for your life in America. You’ll see people that live in shacks with tin roofs in Colombia that live on a few dollars a day. You’ll meet kids in the Philippines that eat rice every day, and if they’re lucky – whatever fish they catch that day.
- You’ll learn a ton about life in European countries. In America, plumbers might be laughed at as low-status jobs, but in Switzerland that’s a perfectly normal middle-class job that allows you to own a home and take a month long vacation every year.
- You’ll learn how to slow down, connect with people, and focus on what really matters. We’re bad at this in America. Everything is go-go-go. Capitalism. You probably don’t realize this because you’ve never spent time anywhere else.
I went to college at 17 because that’s what everyone around me did. I spent a lot of money on a degree I didn’t care about. At 17, I had no clue what was out there. The only information I had was from the people around me. Get out into the world first – see what’s out there – then decide what you wanna do.
Trust me – you won’t regret it.
Sam