After high school and before college, I spent half of a year in Beijing learning Chinese and the other half in Palo Alto working at a Web startup. (It sounds like a cliché now.) This was three years ago. I'm really glad I did what I did, but there were many things I learned during and afterward that would have helped me a lot. A lot of my friends who deferred college for a year don't consider it a good choice, so it's not a given that you will enjoy it.
My recommendations:
- Leave home.
- Spend only your own money. Don't ask or let your parents pay for a single cent. If possible. (But stay on their health insurance.)
- Make your own plans. If you're traveling, don't sign up for "packages" offered by American (or whatever your home country is) tour companies. Get an airline ticket on your own and correspond with local tour agencies, local universities, etc., on your own.
- If you have to spend your parents' money or get your plans approved by them, then do your best to persuade them to give you as much freedom as possible, and take as little money as you need.
- Embrace your freedom. If you're traveling, don't overplan. Leave room to take a trip to another city with people you meet or to abruptly decide you want to go somewhere else or do something else.
- If you're looking for a job, people will try to take advantage of you. Don't underestimate the value you provide. Don't sell yourself short.
- Asia is cheap, safe, and fun. South America, Africa, and the Middle East aren't safe. Europe and Australia aren't cheap. And the US isn't quite as fun (for people who grew up there like me). Those generalizations are what led me to go to China, and I think they still hold (relatively) true.
I see from your post history that you don't program. If you're interested in the tech (and tech business) world, which I think you are, then you will be missing out on 99% of it unless you learn to program. I would recommend you figure out what environment would be most conducive to you learning to program, and then put yourself in that environment for the next 10 months. It's that important. Then travel or something for the next two months.
Comments
After high school and before college, I spent half of a year in Beijing learning Chinese and the other half in Palo Alto working at a Web startup. (It sounds like a cliché now.) This was three years ago. I'm really glad I did what I did, but there were many things I learned during and afterward that would have helped me a lot. A lot of my friends who deferred college for a year don't consider it a good choice, so it's not a given that you will enjoy it.
My recommendations:
- Leave home.
- Spend only your own money. Don't ask or let your parents pay for a single cent. If possible. (But stay on their health insurance.)
- Make your own plans. If you're traveling, don't sign up for "packages" offered by American (or whatever your home country is) tour companies. Get an airline ticket on your own and correspond with local tour agencies, local universities, etc., on your own.
- If you have to spend your parents' money or get your plans approved by them, then do your best to persuade them to give you as much freedom as possible, and take as little money as you need.
- Embrace your freedom. If you're traveling, don't overplan. Leave room to take a trip to another city with people you meet or to abruptly decide you want to go somewhere else or do something else.
- If you're looking for a job, people will try to take advantage of you. Don't underestimate the value you provide. Don't sell yourself short.
- Asia is cheap, safe, and fun. South America, Africa, and the Middle East aren't safe. Europe and Australia aren't cheap. And the US isn't quite as fun (for people who grew up there like me). Those generalizations are what led me to go to China, and I think they still hold (relatively) true.
I see from your post history that you don't program. If you're interested in the tech (and tech business) world, which I think you are, then you will be missing out on 99% of it unless you learn to program. I would recommend you figure out what environment would be most conducive to you learning to program, and then put yourself in that environment for the next 10 months. It's that important. Then travel or something for the next two months.
My email is in my profile.