I tried this.  I left my life in New York City; quit my job in television, moved out of my Upper West Side apartment, and hit the road with my boyfriend.  Those four months were the biggest risk (that I realized) I had yet to take, but the change was what I needed.  I knew I would come back after a while, that I wasn’t going to live in South America forever, but I didn’t want the adventure to feel so fleeting.  I came back to the States, moved into an old bedroom at my parents’ house in New Jersey, and tried to come up with a life for myself that would allow me to live out my curiosities.

Quitting was a choice; backpacking was a choice; I chose something more adventurous than anything else.  Prioritizing