There will probably never be another time in your life quite like your early 20s.

You’re old enough to make your own decisions.

Young enough to change your mind.

Independent enough to go somewhere new.

And, in many ways, free enough to take a chance on something without having your entire life built around you yet.

That doesn’t mean you need to spend your twenties traveling the world.

It doesn’t mean college isn’t important.

It doesn’t mean you should ignore your career or responsibilities.

It means something much simpler.

You have an unusual amount of freedom to explore who you are before life becomes more complicated.

So why not use some of it?

Your early 20s are a time for experimenting

There’s a strange expectation placed on young adults today.

You’re supposed to know what career you want.

Know where you want to live.

Know what you’re passionate about.

Know what you’re good at.

Know what kind of life you want.

And then you’re supposed to start building that life immediately.

But how are you supposed to know?

You’ve barely had a chance to try anything.

Your early 20s can be one of the best times to experiment.

Try a new job.

Live somewhere different.

Travel.

Meet people outside your normal circle.

Work in an industry you’ve never considered.

Take a semester away.

Spend a summer somewhere completely unfamiliar.

You don’t have to know exactly where you’re going.

The point is to find out more about yourself along the way.

Travel becomes different when you’re young

There are ways to travel at every age.

That’s one of the great things about life.

But traveling when you’re young has a particular kind of energy.

You can sleep in a crowded house with five roommates.

Eat cheap food.

Take a bus instead of a private car.

Work long shifts and explore on your days off.

Say yes to spontaneous plans.

Make friends with people you’ve known for two weeks and somehow feel like you’ve known them forever.

You’re willing to be uncomfortable.

You’re willing to figure things out.

And you’re still discovering what you actually want from life.

That makes travel incredibly powerful.

You don’t have to wait until you have money to travel

One of the biggest misconceptions about travel is that you need to become financially successful before you can experience the world.

Graduate.

Get a career.

Save money.

Then travel.

But by then, you may have a mortgage.

A demanding job.

A partner.

Kids.

More responsibilities.

Those things can be wonderful.

But they can also make spontaneous adventure more complicated.

That’s why working while traveling can be such an attractive option for young adults.

Instead of spending your entire savings account on a trip, you can earn money while you’re there.

You work.

You live.

You explore.

You earn.

You learn.

And the paycheck helps make the experience more financially sustainable.

Working somewhere new is different from visiting somewhere new

A vacation gives you a snapshot of a place.

Living and working there gives you a story.

You get to know your coworkers.

You learn the rhythms of the community.

You figure out where locals actually eat.

You develop routines.

You become responsible for showing up.

You start to recognize familiar faces.

You experience the destination when the tourists aren’t around.

And eventually, you stop feeling like a visitor.

You feel like you belong there.

Even if only for a season.

You learn things about yourself that you couldn’t learn at home

You can read about independence.

Or you can experience it.

You can read about communication.

Or you can work with people who don’t think exactly like you.

You can read about adaptability.

Or you can find yourself somewhere unfamiliar when your plans suddenly change.

You can read about leadership.

Or you can become the person your coworkers depend on.

That’s the power of experiential learning.

The lesson isn’t theoretical.

It’s happening to you.

Your early 20s are also about figuring out who your people are

Friendships change dramatically after high school.

College can create community, but not everyone finds their people there.

And once you leave school, making friends can become even harder.

That’s why shared experiences matter.

When you move somewhere new with other young adults, you start with something in common.

Everyone is new.

Everyone is figuring things out.

Everyone wants to explore.

Everyone needs someone to grab dinner with after work.

Everyone wants to know where the best hiking trail is.

Everyone is looking for community.

Friendships happen when you do things together.

And traveling for work gives you plenty of opportunities to do exactly that.

You might discover that your idea of success isn’t what you thought

Maybe you thought success meant getting a prestigious job.

Then you discover you care more about having time outside of work.

Maybe you thought you wanted a big city.

Then you fall in love with a small mountain town.

Maybe you thought you wanted a desk job.

Then you realize you love working with people.

Maybe you thought you wanted to stay close to home.

Then you discover how much you enjoy being somewhere completely different.

That’s not failure.

That’s information.

Every experience gives you another piece of the puzzle.

Travel can make you more confident

Confidence isn’t something you can simply decide to have.

You build it.

You build it by doing things that initially feel uncomfortable.

Walking into a new workplace.

Introducing yourself to strangers.

Navigating somewhere unfamiliar.

Handling your own money.

Solving a problem without immediately calling your parents.

Figuring out how to get home.

Making a mistake and realizing everything is still okay.

Those small moments add up.

Eventually you start thinking:

“I can probably figure this out.”

That might be one of the most valuable things you can learn in your twenties.

You can build your résumé while having an adventure

Travel doesn’t have to be a break from your future.

It can be part of building it.

A meaningful work and travel experience can give you stories to tell in future interviews.

It can demonstrate that you have worked with customers.

Managed responsibility.

Adapted to new environments.

Collaborated with different personalities.

Solved problems.

Taken initiative.

Built relationships.

Those are skills employers care about.

And you didn’t have to sit in a classroom to develop them.

You lived them.

This isn’t about running away from responsibility

There is an important distinction between adventure and irresponsibility.

Adventure doesn’t mean abandoning your obligations.

It can mean choosing an experience where responsibility is part of the deal.

You have a job.

You have a schedule.

You have financial responsibilities.

You have people counting on you.

And you also have mountains, beaches, trails, new cities, new friends and a world to explore.

That’s a much more interesting definition of responsibility.

You’re not running away from adulthood.

You’re practicing it.

Why AdventureEXP exists

AdventureEXP was built around a simple idea.

Young adults shouldn’t have to choose between building their future and experiencing the world.

Our students travel to incredible destinations, work for real employers, earn money, live alongside other young adults and develop practical skills through the experience.

It’s structured.

It’s supported.

And it’s still an adventure.

You don’t have to have your entire future figured out before you go.

You just need to be ready to experience something different.

The memories become part of who you are

Eventually, the summer ends.

The job ends.

You go home.

You return to school or move into your next chapter.

But the experience doesn’t disappear.

You carry it with you.

You remember the people.

The places.

The ridiculous stories.

The hard days.

The unexpected moments.

The things you learned about yourself.

Years later, those experiences become part of how you describe your life.

And that’s something worth considering when you’re deciding what to do with your time.

You won’t always have this much freedom

This isn’t meant to scare you.

It’s meant to encourage you.

You don’t need to do everything right now.

But there are certain opportunities that are simply easier when you’re young.

Moving somewhere for a season.

Taking a job in a completely new environment.

Living with a group of people you just met.

Exploring somewhere you’ve never been.

Changing direction without having to uproot an established career.

Your twenties won’t last forever.

Neither will your ability to approach the world with quite this much flexibility.

So use some of it.

Go somewhere you’ve never been

You don’t need to know exactly what you’ll discover.

That’s the point.

Maybe you’ll find a career interest.

Maybe you’ll make lifelong friends.

Maybe you’ll discover a new favorite place.

Maybe you’ll realize you want something completely different from what you imagined.

Maybe you’ll simply have an incredible summer.

All of those outcomes are valuable.

Because your early twenties aren’t just about preparing for the life you’re going to have someday.

They’re part of your life right now.

So go somewhere.

Work hard.

Meet people.

Explore.

Try something new.

Make some mistakes.

Learn something.

Have some fun.

And give yourself the chance to discover what happens when you step outside the life you’ve always known.