To study or to travel?

September 28, 2015

The end of September, the sunshine is over in Europe and you will find your tanned body back in school. Around that time, every year, I weekly receive FB messages or mails with the same question:

'' Lars, I feel trapped. Should I travel and discover the world, or should I study? ''

DSCN0552.JPGIf you can make this your home for 3 months, would you go? I did.

First of all, there is not one fixed answer to your question. 

Many of you after reading I am Lars send me messages referring that I did not finish any University. So that means I only traveled and that's it? Not really.

After high school, I was lucky enough to know what I wanted. Not knowing what you want in life at that age can be very confusing. After high school I finished a 4 year Sports & Movement study, specialized in Outdoor Sports. So I did have a degree in my pocket.

Now the question, study or travel?

When you feel you're trapped and you have no clue what to do, you gotta get out of your comfort zone! Go and find yourself, don't see it as lost time. The experiences and new opportunities you will get are limitless. You will get to know yourself and find out what you really want. 

You will start to meet people that have the same interest as you. Different as what you are used to back home. Cause we all have those friends, family members and even parents who tell you 'if you do not study now, you will never get a proper job'. Ask yourself this, how many people do you know who graduated from University and can't find a job in their business? Yep, a lot.

Making_friends_around_the_world.jpgMaking friends all over the world, priceless!

People often don't realize all the good things that can come from traveling. I'm not talking about your 1 month trip to Laos to get completely wasted every day. I'm talking about thought full travel. The kind of travel where you explore new cultures, see different ways of living and learn that the way you and your family live is not the only way. The type of travel that you need to use your skills, discover new ones and use them to reach your goals. How simple they might be. Mixed of course with a few good parties with new, life-long friends!

All of this can lead to knowing exactly what you want in life, or at least get a better idea of your strength and abilities. Maybe you can’t wait to get home after a while and start a study you never thought of doing. You open your eyes, for many years to come!

My parents once spoke with long-time-no-see friends who asked very concerned ‘How is Lars, what is he up to?’ Thinking that with only my sport-kinda degree there was not much to become of me. When my parents told them I was happy, living my dream and successful they were surprised. This shows how narrow-minded people can be.

explore.jpgExplore as many different corners of the world as you can!

So why study? At the moment I am waiting for a 4 year visa and a full-time contract to be approved by Immigration here in Oz. If I wouldn’t have finished my studies (and I thought about it, not once) I would not have the same opportunities I am getting now. It is understandable that you need a certain type of degree.  You always realize later in life that you learned more at school than you thought when you were 16-18, kinda.

But yet again I believe that a study will not guarantee you a successful job, or even ‘a’ job. I know enough people who just finished high school and are very successful. It all comes down to your own will power and the way you look at life. If you work hard, no matter where or how you start, you can make it as far as you want.

take_different_roads.jpgPush yourself to take different roads, try things you never done before!

Now, you’re in the last year of your 5 year study. You really want to pack your bag and just go. Should you? Well in that case I would definitely recommend you to finish what you started. You worked hard to make it the other 4 years. Leaving to explore the world knowing you got that degree in your pocket will make you feel just that little bit better.

Unfortunately, no matter what type of degree it is, we live in a world where you simply need a degree to have a chance somewhere. Where as someone with a bag full of life experiences, doing different jobs around the world would not get accepted for a certain position. Companies prefer to see a degree then life experience. Although I believe this has changed in the last years, don’t you?

Something I always recommend is to travel solo. Get out of any routine you have and spend time alone. This sounds maybe weird or sad, but it isn’t. When you travel alone, you’re never really alone. Automatically you reach out to people, choose a direction into the unknown and see things you were first blinded from. You will start thinking about the future, create own ideas and dreams. I promise you, you will be more motivated than ever to realize them!

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Solo travel from Barbados to Jamaica to Panama to Chile.

All this new energy and information you are receiving is creating a better you. It will help you make decisions by yourself easier. Understand that there is more to travel than visiting paradise and a selfie!

Conclusion:

Believe in yourself and know that going into the unknown can only lead to good things (even if your travels would be a complete disaster). Too many people follow the masses and do what they see others do around them. Sometimes you got to hold on and finish what you started, other times you have to trust yourself and take that step and start creating the world around you.

Ow, and if you think money is a problem, watch this video:

''How to travel the world with almost no money''

by Tomislav Perko

If you are in doubt, or need someone to just tell you to go, hit me up on FB or send me an email: larszeekaf@gmail.com

Happy to hear from you,

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 psssst, a bit more of travel motivation down here!

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