My Failed Attempt to ‘Act Like a Responsible Adult’

I had planned to take six months to backpack through South America. As the winter season drew to a close, I started to have second thoughts.

In a few weeks, I would leave Colorado with no job, no place to live, and no prospects. What would I do if I ran out of money? What if I couldn't find another job? How would I support myself? I didn't want to end up living on the streets, foraging through trash cans, subsisting on discarded pizza crusts. What was I thinking? I had no business traveling overseas. "Grow up," I said. "Act like a responsible adult."

I needed to find a stable career — one that provided reliable income, benefits, and health insurance. So, I scrapped my travel plans, updated my résumé, and wrote a cover letter that explained my "gap season."

I spent countless hours scouring job sites. I applied to every attractive job that caught my eye. Admittedly, my time would have been better spent sticking my résumé into an empty bottle and throwing it into the sea.

I never received an offer.

Becoming a Seasonal Escapist

I started working seasonally fifteen years ago. I didn't intend to, at least not initially. I was young, a few years from having graduated university, and worked a short time for corporate America. Then, I got fired. The economy had plunged into a recession. Finding another full-time job proved futile.

In my desperate search for work, I stumbled across an online job site that featured seasonal jobs. Many of the jobs posted required relocating to a ski resort or national park. Fortunately, most of the employers offered affordable employee housing as part of their incentive package. Having few options left, I applied to a ski resort in Colorado and got hired as a guest service driver.

I spent that winter driving 60 hours a week, white-knuckling a steering wheel, chauffeuring guests through inclement weather to their chalets. While I earned far more money than I ever imagined, the season only lasted four months. When it was over, the resort shutdown, and I had to vacate employee housing.

Once again, I found myself with no job and no place to live. This time, however, I had more cash than I could spend, and big plans to travel the world.