In Japan, public bathrooms have no soap. They also have no toilet paper. There's a good reason for this—that stuff's given away free on the street, bundled with advertising, so everybody carries around a free stash. You'd never get to discover all that unless you journeyed to Japan and lived it yourself. That's the message behind Colleen Kinder's book
Delaying the Real World, an inspiring guide to getting away from it all for recent college graduates.
Colleen's book isn't about how to buy a Eurail pass and have a great summer vacation. It's about how to put off the pressures of post-graduate adult life and continue your education beyond the classroom. That means traveling the world, working abroad, volunteering for causes you care about, and not caring about people busy counting their 401(k) contributions back home. Colleen makes it clear that if you plan it right, the education provided by a year spent squishing grapes barefoot on a farm in Denmark can be more illuminating than four years of papers and finals, and far more rewarding than life as a corporate drone.
Unlike many "road less traveled" guides,
Delaying the Real World is not a dull anti-corporate rant. Instead it reads like a humorous slew of insider info and practical advice you can actually use to make the most of your twenties, a time of infinite possibility that shouldn't be wasted writing memos or brownnosing bosses.
Colleen calls people who resist the constraints of the real world "
delayers." Below are some tips straight from Colleen, whose accomplishments as a writer prove that delayers can return to the real world unscarred and succeed.
SparkNotes: What's the best reason to delay the real world?
Colleen Kinder: Because you can! There is no better time for adventure than the present. A forty-year-old can't run off and lifeguard in Bali for a summer because he has a stable job and a litter of kids. Young people, on the other hand, have so little tying them down, not to mention so much energy to explore foreign countries, hike mountains, learn new languages, meet cool new people, and pitch in to help good causes. I guess what it comes down to is the kind of stories you want to tell your grandchildren about your early years. Will their eyes widen, or glaze over?
SN: Your book says people often don't delay the real world because society expects everyone to have a steady path and a paycheck immediately after graduation. What's the best way to resist that type of pressure?
CK: Just stay focused on what you are craving—whether it be a bicycle trip across the U.S., a nanny job in Paris, or a summer position on a cruise ship—as opposed to what you think you "should" do. If you follow your passion, you'll never mislead yourself. Sure, you might end up living out of a backpack or struggling to negotiate a cab fare in Arabic, but you'll be the happiest young person on the planet. The "shoulds" will always be there when you get home, and by then you'll have a passport stamped with priceless memories.
SN: Your book is aimed mostly at people in their twenties, but its message can apply to people of all ages. What can students in high school learn from reading your book?
CK: The sooner you start, the better! In fact, many of the young adventurers featured in the book got their start early—either by counseling at cool summer camps, taking a year off after high school to do a foreign exchange program, or going on mission trips with their churches. Delaying the Real World is not about one year of your life; instead, it's a philosophy about seizing opportunities to see new things and to challenge yourself. Once you start traveling abroad and testing your limits, you'll only grow hungrier for adventure, and realize how endless your options are.
SN: What's the most valuable lesson you learned from your experience as a "delayer"?
CK: Transitions are your hidden ticket to adventure. I'm talking about all of those breaks in your fixed routine: summer recesses, post-graduation months, winter vacations. They were made for short-term adventures. That's why high school and college students are in a prime position to pack in so many exciting jobs, volunteer stints, physical challenges, and travels before they even graduate and consider full-time jobs. You don't have to search for an excuse to run off to Italy when the school shuts down, nor do you have to persuade the people in your life that such an adventure is legitimate. Your teachers, parents, and future bosses will be impressed that you took the initiative to expand your horizons and learn outside of the classroom.
SN: What advice do you have for "delayers" re-entering the real world?
CK: Find a way to bring an element of your adventure back home. This could mean finding a job that allows you to speak a foreign language, joining a marathon training team, or just planning "volunteer vacations" in far corners of the world. Many of the adventurers who wrote stories for Delaying the Real World are doing awesome things now. One girl who taught English in Thailand after college now works for MTV. Another adventurer who did the Peace Corps currently works on a winery in California. Just because you eventually join the "real world" to make a living doesn't mean you have to sit behind a computer for the rest of your life. Delaying the Real World helps you recognize that passion is your best compass, and the lesson usually sticks.
SN: Is it possible to delay the real world for life?
CK: According to my dad, this is what I'm trying to do! I guess it depends on your definition of "the real world." I never approached my adventures as "time off," and I never recommend that my readers do either. Even when I was living in Cuba right after college, I was still pushing myself and writing almost every day. If you can find the thing that excites you and makes you want to get out of bed in the morning, then your career won't be defined by clocking in and out of an office space. "Dilbert" won't be your favorite comic strip, and you won't need nine cups of coffee to get you through the day. You'll wish your days were longer, not shorter, because you are using your passion. If doing what you love qualifies as "delaying the real world," then yes, I wish a lifetime of it for everyone.
on 5/11/05 10:36 AM 
