Live a Life with No Regrets and Travel Abroad

by Rachel Lynn, Greenheart Travel English Teacher in South Korea

Rachel’s response to the article, 3 Reasons to Travel While You’re Young by Jeff Goins

I looked back on the months before I had arrived in Korea. Making a move to the other side of the world was a scary thought.  As adolescents, the world pushes us to plan for the future.  That’s what I had been doing for the past four years: working hard in college to secure a good job (one which I would enjoy) and hoping to eventually become an independent. When I looked at where my life was heading, and where I wanted my life to go, I realized that there were some uncertainties.

Sure, I had gotten what I wanted, a teaching job out of college, and a degree hard earned that no one would ever be able to take from me. However,  I started to crave the world.  I started to realize that I was young and able, and that although a secure job was what I was  looking for, I wasn’t ready for it yet quite yet. I have seen too many adults in my life struggle through hardship and life changes.  When my elders were young, the idea was to settle down, get a job, and start a family.  Some of them passed this notion on to us, perhaps not in the form of relationships and marriage, but in the form of career and independent life. However, if you listen to your elders, many of them will often say, “if I could have done that when I was young, I would go back and take the opportunity.” Perhaps, it’s not that they would change their lives, and the decisions they made, but that they would enhance it by taking more risks.

I decided, I didn’t want to be one of those people. I wanted to know, then when I age, I will be able to tell my children to chase their dreams and fight for what they want, take opportunities without hesitation, and look back without regret. Don’t live a life that follows the norm, live a life that leaves you breathless, that enhances your learning, and that inspires you and others.  I want my children to know that I was brave enough to live a life like that, and they can as well. I wanted to travel the world. I believed that if I went away, I would have a better understanding of the world, of people, and mostly of myself.

To read more about Rachel’s thoughts on teaching abroad in Korea, visit her blog…