Delaying The Real World

My friend Phillip handed me this book about 2 years ago. He said it was mine, that I left it at his house. I swear to you I've never seen this book until that day. But it was meant for me. The people writing these stories and this book get me.

Delaying The Real World breaks down the many options we have to AVOID the typical 9-5 slave job. It is the very book that nudged me in the direction of getting yoga teacher certified so I could travel the world with the skill. I already got the idea when I saw a volunteer opportunity for a yoga teacher in South America, but when I read the following passage, I knew I was going to do it fo realz:

"I had known for a while that I wanted to go to Mexico after I graduated from college. After eight months of working and saving, I'm finally on my way there. One of the first things I did in preparation for my trip was to sign up for a one-month yoga teacher training program in Colorado. It was fairly pricey (certification costs almost $2,000), but fortunately between working at a restaurant and using graduation gifts, I was able to pay for it. 

After getting certified, I returned home and began giving private yoga classes. Since I was living with my parents, not spending any money on rent, and being extremely careful (perhaps stingy) with extra expenses, I soon accumulated an amount of money that may seem insignificant by U.S. standards, but will go far south of the border. While stockpiling my every cent, I googled yoga and Mexico and got the names of many hotels and retreats. I sent a bunch of emails out on a whim, explaining that I had just graduated from college, was a certified yoga instructor, and was about to start backpacking Mexico on a low budget. I said that I would love to practice yoga but couldn't afford hotels or retreat centers. I asked if they had any work study opportunities. 

One place emailed me back right away and said that in exhange for teaching some yoga, I could be a full participant of their retreat. So although I won't be making any money, I will get a $1,500/week package at no cost. And then I will have plenty of time to backpack around the country on my own! I am of course both excited and terrified - trying my best to keep my expectations in check and just hope that my path will unfold on its own. Somehow, it always does." (p.134)

Yup yup yup yup yup yup yup. Yup.