IMHO, more young people should do this kind of thing (within reason of course). Now that I'm older I realize I didn't appreciate how opportunities to do stuff like this often diminish in later phases of life. Personally, I did have some adventures kind of like this, but in retrospect, I should have done a bit more as I look back very fondly on those times.
YES! Absolutely. I look back on my 20s and these events where I had a moments of bravery in a sea of mediocrity and regret stand out as the defining moments that had any lasting memories.
Things as simple as talking to a girl on the train and striking up a friendship to saving up some money and quitting my job that I hated and did not want to do to buy a one way ticket to another continent and living out of hostels.
There have been pain points: , a decade later that girl ended up causing me grief when we did not amicably split ties, the trip caused me to encounter scammers on the run from the law that robbed me of some money and almost landed me in French jail by mistake, the switch from a field I got boxed into that I quit to what I wanted to do was painful and took way longer than it should have.
But looking back, i'd suffer through the dark moments all over again because it made me grow. My life looking back thus far was a mostly mundane existence of missed opportunities mixed in with moments of bravery that spiced things up from time to time and for that I am grateful and blessed.
Classic excuse for not doing a thing. You made choices, that's all, you were not prevented from any choices, you simply didn't think of or didn't prioritize them.
Which is fine, we all have to obviously since you can't have everything. The point is just that whatever you didn't choose, you didn't choose.
There are countless things I wish I did, and although at various points I had no money or other potential excuses I could say, none of those actually prevented me from persuing whatever I did choose to persue instead. Many things I didn't do I know were purely from lack of imagination or bravery or effort. Other things I did do, I somehow did despite having no money or only junk versions of tools & resources etc.
I don't have to know your particular life details and hardships because it doesn't matter what they are. This applies to some greater or lesser degree to everyone who is merely lucky enough not to be born a literal owned property slave chained to a wall in a box.
Don’t create mental blocks like that in your head just because everyone else in your age group says the same thing. You don’t have to zap every penny of debt in order to enjoy your life.
> You don’t have to zap every penny of debt in order to enjoy your life.
No, you don't, but you can't discharge student loans in a bankruptcy, and you have to pay them every month once you're no longer a student.
When I got to the end of medical residency, I took a job starting the day after it ended. A German-born and raised doctor of my acquaintance said that I was being foolish, I should take a month off after four years and take a nice vacation.
I said, "With what money? I don't have enough money to take a vacation, so I'll just be sitting at home, and I need a check at the end of this month to pay my bills. Do you want to pay for it?"
Some people offer useless advice, and he's one of them?
Seriously, unless you're from a well-off family, have joined the military, or have a well-paid spouse, even making the schooling free would require borrowing living expenses.
"Schlussendlich schaffte ich es nur mit einem Kredit von meinem Onkel, die 5.888€ für die BahnCard aufzubringen"
"I only managed to raise €5,888 for the BahnCard with a loan from my uncle"
