For those of us who are privileged enough never to doubt going to college, there is an absolute path that is paved. You go to school from around age 5 to 18 and then college from 18 to 22. After that, though there is more freedom to be yourself and to figure out who you are.
I am lucky in my life that my parents, a few cousins, and some of my closest friends have taken untraditional paths. What I mean by that is they didn’t go straight to a job in the field they studied right after graduating or took time off in the middle of college before transferring. None of these things are wrong. I am all for people who realize that they aren’t happy where they are and are brave enough to do something about it. Take time off college if you are miserable. Go travel or be a ski bum or just work. Figure out who you are without the framework of a school. What are your likes and dislikes? What sort of lifestyle do you want? Is how you appear to others important to you? What are your values? If you are lucky, you can do this while still in school but if you know you are stuck, take a break have fun and find yourself.
My dad tells my brother and me that as long as we can cover our expenses, whatever we want to do is okay. My dad is English, and he went to a two-year vocational school from ages 16 to 18. Then he did a two-year apprenticeship, and then he ended up crewing for sailboats and sailing around the world for three years. After the sailing, my parents traveled for a while and lived in England when my dad went back to school to do what he does now. In many ways that are the model that I have been given.
Do what you want while you have the freedom to do so. This doesn’t mean spend all your money on extravagant travel or things, but be a surf instructor in Hawaii or Australia and learn to live on a tight budget. Be a ski bum and see the advantage of being able to ski every day while not being able to buy new gear. You learn a lot about yourself when you are budgeting from being a ski bum. Plus you just learn how to plan well. You learn what you really need and let go of what you don’t. Living an adventure life, or life as an adventure leader/instructor/person is about the experiences. It isn’t about having the latest gear or a new car but being at the mountain on that Wednesday powder day and getting to ski in it AND go to work. I can go on about being a ski bum because that is the choice that I have made last winter and this one.

Teaching skiing runs in my family. Both my grandparents on my mum's side and my aunt all teach or taught. Going off on adventures runs in my family on both sides. I’ve wanted to be full time at a ski mountain for most of my life. The community that I have found at my mountain has been monumental in helping me find my confidence and my voice. It is genuine, supportive, and down to earth. I have grown as a person thanks to this community, and I know now that I will have it with me as I move forward no matter where I am living.
No one path is the right way to do it. Life isn’t linear it’s more like a tangled ball of yarn. There is no way to do life right or wrong. As long as you aren’t going hungry or in lots of debt and you are happy then you are doing life right. Being able to be outside all the time is such a gift. Life is truly about figuring out how to live in a way that makes you happy a large percentage of the time. I know it’s nearly impossible to be happy 100 percent of the time.
You will be criticized and judged no matter what you do so you might as well do what you love and what makes you happy. You might as well go on the adventures that you want to. Is it really worth having money and things if you are miserable? Maybe you’ll be lucky enough in the end and make money doing something that makes you happy. Most importantly remember not to judge people for their choices. Instead, send love and let them be just like you would want them to do for you.