There's Nothing Wrong with Living the Weekend Warrior Lifestyle
Not every life can be the van life, but that's okay.
Every college student knows the feeling: you live within a few miles of twenty of your closest friends, sure you can skip a few days of class, and that five hour drive out of town is a well deserved break. It seems like every day is an opportunity to do something great. Every fall, winter, spring, and summer break is an adventure in the making and you’re never at a loss for adventure partners. Between university clubs, state of the art gyms, and if your university was anything like mine, amazing outdoor recreation programs, you’re guaranteed to find some like minded explorers. It is an environment unlike many others, but maybe you won’t realize that until you graduate. Because for as many weekend trips or spring break plans you have, there is always that voice in the back of your head saying "but gosh, when I graduate, I’ll be able to travel and do all the things I’ve been wanting to do!”
Or maybe that was just me. Maybe I was so used to hearing the stories about the people traveling the world in vans, the people who quit their jobs to pursue a life of adventure, those who make their living off of travel blogs; maybe I’ve been reading the stories that made that life seem so attainable.
But it’s not. Not for everyone. And that is okay.
When I was in school I traveled to Yosemite for ten days, I spent a week kayaking the lakes of British Columbia, I rock climbed almost every day, I took road trips across the state, I spent my nights shooting astrophotography with friends, and I spent two weeks in Southeast Asia (pictured above - a hot air balloon ride in Laos).
After I graduated? I moved back in with my folks, and spent months looking for a descent job. The result? I work a 9-5 at a publishing company in the very town I grew up in. It’s not the adventurer lifestyle I imagined, in fact it is far from it.
But even if we all can’t be Instagram worthy explorers; as frustrating it is to be a Desk Warrior instead, we all have the opportunity to be Weekend Warriors too.
It took a while to embrace my new 9-5 life, but once I started putting the frustration I was feeling at not being the oh so sought after world traveler into planning to perfect weekends, things got easier.
Sometimes a drive on the North Cascades Highway...
... a snowshoe in the mountains...
... or a drive through Eastern Washington and across the Palouse...
... will do just fine.
Don’t count me out yet, I’m going to travel the world someday, but it is okay if today isn’t that day.
Not everyone is going to be an Instagram explorer, or a live the van life, but anybody can embrace the Weekend Warrior lifestyle.
We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!
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