I bounced around for 7 years after college before law school. Did all kinds of work, and no work. Travelled a lot. Was homeless [well a couchsurfer] a while (wish I’d been a semi hobo even longer). Never earned more than 12k a year.
Was worthwhile in many ways but in particular I think it has made me a better middle aged dude in that I do not have wanderlust. I see a lot of discontented guys my age wanting to roam. I did that upfront. I couldn’t have stayed married if I’d gotten hitched earlier too.
I’d say it’s too early to call ones kids successful till I see how they’re doing at age 40 or so, how their relationships are, how they relate to their kids. I probably looked like a total flop all around to my dad at age 29, but by 53, in my opinion, I’m doing good.
Yet, there’s no way I could be where I am mentally now if I’d gotten into the rat race right after college.
As Kurt vonnegut said,
Sometimes you have to go a very long way out of your way to go a short way correctly,
