OK, i'm 17 and i'm about to graduate next year. My best friend and i are very much alike and 2 years ago we promised each other that we'd both go to university to become a doctor once we graduated. At the time i actually kinda liked her so i probably shouldn't have promised that.... Since i like helping people and my fav class is biology i still thought it was a good idea regardless. I also thought that there wouldn't be anything else that would be better than this especially since i would be with my best friend.
But this is when things take a change. Not to long ago a decent friend of mine offered me this crazy idea of saving our money and travelling the world after high school, like we could get part time jobs and even beg on the side of the street if we had to. We have all these crazy ideas of things we wanna do like become a monk or live with strange tribes in africa. We plan on keeping a journal of overthing we do and everyone we meet and in the end we're gonna write a book about it. It's basically one huge adventure of seeing the world for what it really is. Oddly enough all this appeals to me a great deal. I know its a very huge change from a doctor..
So I explained to my best friend that i was seriously considering doing this and she wasn't very happy with me to say the least but i don't blame her really, it was probably alot for her to handle at once. The thing is that i think i'd rather go on the crazy adventure as sad as it is but i really don't like breaking our promise either... and if i do go i'll probably be gone for a couple years and might not really get to see her again for a very long time.
I've basically got 2 choices: 1. Do something i would probably still enjoy with my best friend without wasting our friendship
or 2. DO something i would immensely enjoy with a decent friend whom i get along with very well.
i think your friend is not your mom or your dad so you have the right to do what you wish. but i would hope that you go to school instead of travel and beg (its begging for goodness sakes, have you no pride?). you dont have to go to school to be a doctor, just go because maybe a year from now after you are done with hs, you wont want college anymore. bad idea. do the crazy travel thing later....and save a good friendship by talking this all out with her.
I have three degrees and still had many traveling opertunities. With plenty to write about!
I backpacked across South America. I went on a train venture through England, Germany and Ireland. I really did a lot of cool stuff. But I wated until I had breaks from school.
So basically none of my trips lasted longer than our summer breaks. You should really rethink your idea and find away to do both school and travel. You are making a desicion that has a great risk involved! Think longer about your future and what if this falls through.
School to fall back on will be the smartest thing you could do!
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you can do both, but as Steffany points out, it's all about timing. If you plan around a school schedule, you've got off a week for spring break, most of summer, then between semesters at Christmas. Some schools offer travel abroad opportunities, even studying abroad for a semester, which is a cool option.
my only advice for you is to get this done while you still have a flexible schedule, becuase once you get into the world of steady work, time seems so hard to come by, even if your job offers good vacation perks.
other advice: you don't have to beg on the sides of streets, but you can live frugally while finding safe places to sleep at night!
In any case, you need to do what you feel is best. Life is too short. Weigh the consequences of both actions and do what you feel is right for you. Sounds like a cop out answer, but it really is how I determine what I'm going to do.
Stay in school - friends will come and go and you will have lots of opportunities (more if you stay in school) to travel.
And thanks for mentioning begging. I'll make sure that we don't give any money to any teenages who are begging - what a lazy, selfish, stupid thing to do. I wish I could slap some sense into you- that casual statement -more than anything else I have ever read on this board - is the most offensive and filthy thing I have seen.
You obviously don't realize what begging is. Even at my lowest point - being homeless - I NEVER begged. I WORK for every cent I have. I hope you never know what it feels like to be homeless and despondent and scared, and if you do, I hope you can keep some self-pride and self-worth and not beg for anything.
Shush-up Tony, don't tell me that I'm allowing myself to get angry - that's crap. Begging is nothing to take lightly.
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