JOURNAL

Looking back, I never thought seasonal jobs would play such a huge role in my life. When I set off for Colorado after college graduation, I imagined I would spend a year working as a ski bum before returning to the “real world.” What happened couldn’t be more different.

One season quickly turned into three, and seasonal jobs became the lifeblood of my 20s. During my time in Breckenridge, I met people who’d worked all around the world doing seasonal work. Inspired, I created a “Before I’m 30” list of awesome experiences I wanted to have over the next decade. At age 27, I’m proud to say I’ve crossed almost everything off the list. I haven’t taken the perfect jumpy pic on every continent (but am working on it!), and I haven’t worked on an organic farm through WWOOF. But, among many other things, I have worked in Alaska for one three summers, taught English abroad, volunteered in Central America, learned Spanish, and received my advanced scuba diving certification. At the moment, my seasonal work is on pause. That’s because I now dedicate my time to helping others discover the magic of the seasonal life. I write stories and interview seasonal workers on my blog, Travel Junkette, and I provide free travel coaching consultations to people in search of more adventure.

I don’t know where I would be today without seasonal jobs — and I’m not exaggerating when I say that CoolWorks changed my life. Who would’ve thought that you could explore some of the country’s most beautiful places AND get paid for it? Many people (myself included) would never have known about these opportunities without this incredible resource. What’s next for me? I’m not sure. I want to continue helping people add more adventure to their life through seasonal jobs and travel, though I don’t know what that looks like exactly. But honestly, I’m not too worried about it. I already have memories to last a lifetime.

Check out the amazing tales and travel knowledge that Susan has collected at susanshaine.com