I knew I had changed because of our trip, but I had no idea how much.
Then I started work. Back in the same demanding environment, the scope of my personal evolution suddenly became clear, as did my mistake.
Fueled by fears that my career break had made me unemployable, I focused my job search on roles where I felt I could make the strongest pitch for my candidacy. In other words, I sought out jobs similar to the one I’d left. I never took the time to consider if I might want to do something different.
If I could do this over, I would have asked myself why I was on autopilot, returning to my old life. Instead, it took getting laid off years later to convince me to try something new.
Only then did I return to the idea I’d first considered during our trip: building Travelries, my own travel company.
After a year of travel, I can confidently say that taking the plunge comes with its fair share of exhausting moments, disasters, and regrets. It also brings an ever-ballooning sense of pride for having done it — for taking the big trip. That’s something I would never want to change.
Do you have a story about taking a gap year that you want to share? Get in touch with the editor: akarplus@businessinsider.com.
