Stop me if you’ve heard this one.

A millennial walks into an office…

And quits a comfortable, steady job to travel.

You’ve heard it, right? That is because it has become the tagline of my generation. Now that I have for better or for worse joined the ranks, I have passed through what I believe are the 3 steps that most people end up going through (or just me, since this is completely based on my experience) at some point when they make a major decision that is even just a little bit different.

Step 1: Accepting the stereotype, and realizing you can’t change it. 

We are all flighty, we job hop too much, we are entitled and narcissistic. We chase dreams instead of reality, because we were all told that we were special for too long, and given too many participation ribbons for giving mediocre (at best) performances in little league soccer.

Did I miss anything?

So, when I put my notice in at my job of 6 years (a great one that offered me security, benefits, a good salary, and flexible time off) to travel the world, I had to laugh at myself. In one decision, I had branded myself as one of those people, another story of a 20-something (almost 30!) quitting their desk job to travel.

The reality is, I am not quitting my job on a whim, or after a week of sitting behind my desk enviously staring at instagram feeds of travellers raising their hands up standing in front of mountains (see my cover photo), and convincing myself that is the answer to all my problems. I do not think there is anything wrong with having a desk job and working hard to pay the bills. This has nothing to do with my choice to leave.

I am leaving job security for instability and the unknown. I might come back at some point down the road and find myself having to start over from scratch. Many see a decision like this as being irresponsible, ungrateful; just another unsatisfied young person, running away from responsibility of real life.

I have worked throughout my late teens and my twenties, and saved every bit I could of my salary to be able to take time to explore the world on my own terms. I don’t have a trust fund. I have a goal. A lofty one, and I worked for it. I met my husband when I was 19, and was lucky enough to find someone that shared this goal with me. We planned for it. I dreamed about it. It scares me. In fact, it terrifies me. I know what I am leaving behind. I understand what I am giving up. I am not naive and do also understand how lucky I am to be in a position in the world where I am able to make this type of dream a reality, and that I was already given a leg up simply because of my background.

The stereotype of my generation will be there (just like it has been for all generations), regardless of what I choose to do with my life, so I can’t let that stop me from moving forward.

Step 2: Everyone has an opinion – and you are going to hear them all. 

The week before my husband and I left our jobs, my husband was stopped in the hallway of his office by an executive who said, “Is it true what I heard? You are quitting and traveling? That is such a typical millennial thing to do. Another traveling millennial sucking up the world’s resources.'”

Because my husband is kind and lighthearted, he laughed it off. I, however, sulked angrily after he told me this story (I clearly hadn’t mastered step one yet).

Since we have prepared to go on this trip, many variants of comments like that have found their way to our ears, and it seems as though people have a lot of opinions when you make this kind of a choice. As a person who can let the opinions of others affect how I feel to a fault, this has been difficult for me.

What it has to come down to is this: I am the one that has to wake up every morning and live in my skin. I am the one that has to live out the consequences of my decisions, good or bad, while people like Executive Guy get to live in theirs, and comfortably judge me from afar. I can’t make life decisions based on Executive Guy. I have to do what feels right to me.

I can’t help but think that if we were using our hard earned money and deciding to sink it into a new home, or pay for a year of graduate school, or fund our first child, there would be much less of this type of judgement coming our way. But then again, maybe not. People will always find a way to judge any decision.

Step 3: Ignore all opinions and advice, and do it anyway. 

Believe me when I say, I have tried as hard as I could to talk myself out of this over the years. I have tried convincing myself to stay put, that leaving would be a mistake. To just satisfy my travel itch like a normal person by fitting in vacations where I could. It has been a constant battle between two sides of myself; The rational side of my brain is constantly screaming What are you doing?! We are safe here! What if you hate it? What if you’re miserable? You should be happy with what you have now, that should be enough for you! Don’t you know how lucky you are?  

This comic sums up my entire mental state 90% of the time.

Then, there is the other part of me. This is the side that wants me to do the things that I have always dreamed of doing, and to live the fullest life I possibly can.

I think it is obvious which side won out.

It is a risk, and a risk that I have decided is worth taking for me. This decision is not for everyone, millennial or not. I would never recommend people quit their jobs, and follow the same path that my husband and I are taking. It is not everyone’s dream. But right now, it is mine.

However, I would always recommend that if there is something within you that you truly want to do, regardless of how scary or foolish it may seem, or what others think about it, do whatever you can to make that thing happen. If you are not happy where you are, make decisions that will get you closer to where you want to be. Move forward. Try, and if you fail, try again. Keep trying. Maybe some of us do take big risks, and sometimes we fail in epic fashions. I know I have. But you have to ask yourself, if I don’t take this chance, what is the alternative? 

If we did not do this now, we would never stop wanting to do this. We would never stop dreaming of this. It might go away for awhile, or be pushed down and silenced by other exciting life events, but it would always resurface. Ultimately I would find myself at the end of my life, wondering why I never did it when I had the chance.

I do not want to go the next twenty years following a path that does not belong to me, and I do not want to carry around a padded resumé filled with jobs that represent years of unhappiness. Regardless of where we end up after this trip, my hope is that we will look back on this time with no regrets, and be glad we took the leap.

So, here’s to being a millennial.