So I Took a Sabbatical (Series)

In college, I remember having to change one of my courses because the professor had chosen to take a sabbatical. At the time, I just wanted to register for the class so that I could graduate, start my career, and begin to meaningfully contribute to society by paying taxes and repaying my student loans. Needless to say, I didn't pay much attention to it.

After graduating and entering the work force as a full fledged, mostly functioning adult, I had several colleagues take sabbaticals of 6 months to over a year. When they returned, I always asked Why did you do it? What did you do? The answer was always a variant of I wanted to take some time for myself to relax, recharge, and reassess my life.

As a driven, goal-oriented, young professional, that concept was foreign and a little unnerving. Take time away? Think about your life? Their response: You're young, you'll understand one day. And that was it.

I couldn't let it go: to be secure enough in your life to step completely away from the daily, monthly, yearly grind to reflect on the past, unwind, or simply experience what life has to offer is a luxury that not many have the opportunity to experience.

That will never be me.

Fast forward 12 years. I'm sitting in front of my boss, in his corner office, as he asks me Well, what's your next step? Do you have another job lined up?

No, I don't. I'm going to take some time for myself.

What he didn't know, however, is that as a driven, goal-oriented, somewhat-young professional, not having a plan was terrifying.

And it was the best decision of my life.

The following series of posts (linked below) detail my experience with taking a sabbatical. I hope that this provides insight for anyone who may be thinking of doing something similar.

Part 1: Why I Took One
Part 2: Reflecting on the Past
Part 3: What I Did with the Time Off
Part 4: What I Learned/Should You Do It? (TL;DR)