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New here? I’m Joshua, living in Thailand, and I write about building an unconventional life. Freelancing, attention, decisions, and what it takes to do things differently. Subscribe free here.
The idea of "structure" used to scare me.
In fact, it was actually one of the main things that kept me from pursuing a university degree.
Because, maybe like you, the last thing I wanted was to be told what to do, to commit to 4 years of something I wasn't even sure about.
I wanted the option to change my mind.
And structure… felt like a trap.
To me, it meant locking in decisions without an exit ramp. It meant following a pre-set path (college, career, retirement, etc.), a rather straight line that everyone treated like the only reasonable option to live a successful life.
I didn't have a super well-articulated philosophy about what I wanted at the time. But when I heard things like "you need to pick a major" or "what's your backup plan?" something in me tightened up.
I felt cornered.
Trapped.
Because more than anything, I wanted complete flexibility even if it meant sacrificing certainty (although nothing in life is certain, is it?). I wanted to know that if I woke up one morning with a change of heart, I wouldn’t be locked into home loan payments or degree requirements I couldn’t undo.
So instead of university, I left.
Following my senior year of high school, I bought a one-way ticket to Asia to see what would happen if I “figured it out” as I went.
For the next year, I bounced between 12 countries — Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan.
I'd book Airbnbs a day or two before arriving. Sometimes I'd even wake up and book a next-day flight.