Our family went river rafting on the Kicking Horse River in British Columbia last summer with
Wet'nWild Adventures. The picture on the left was taken at lunch before we got into some
good whitewater. The scenery was fantastic - check out that rock strata on the far bank of the river. Oh, and the white water was good too :-)
We had a fantastic guide who was very experienced and knowledgeable. I don't recall his name right now (Kyle?). My wife thought he looked like Harrison Ford. Anyway, during the more relaxed sections of the river there was time for discussion. During one of these 'lulls' Kyle asked if anyone had been rafting anywhere before. Several people had rafted previously in different parts of North America (a river in the Grand Canyon, another in California, and one or two in BC). Kyle was very interested as he had rafted one of those rivers in the past. As the discussion progressed, it turned out that Kyle had made a career out of being a river rafting guide. He was
so passionate about it that when the season was over in North America, he would travel somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere (South America, Africa) and work for river rafting tours in those countries! Apparently he has been doing this for quite a number of years now.
What an interesting career option for other young adults to emulate! Don't let the seasons or the weather constrain your career. Follow your passion to the side of the world where it's in season. Skiing, mountain biking, rafting, golfing, treeplanting (ha, just kidding), etc.
Another example of this I got just today was to observe the number of young people from Australia and New Zealand work at the ski slopes here in Alberta and BC. Likely they can't ski in Australia in the middle of March (end of their summer). What an opportunity to come to Canada, work on the slopes, and experience another country all at the same time!
Don't miss our '
Career Resources for Graduates and Young Adults' page. It has some helpful links to videos, sites, and articles related to careers and career direction for grads. Our '
Travel Resources' page is also full of links to sites for young people interested in doing some travel abroad.
by Stephen C Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen is another one of those 'modern parable' books (like Who Moved My Cheese?). This one focuses on attitude and the Seattle Fish Market. Fish is a fast read that is just over 100 pages long. There are a lot of good lessons in this book that the reader will find themselves assimilating almost through osmosis. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to young adults because attitude can make all the difference. 4 out of 5
by Maya Frost is a well written, well researched book. It offers a different perspective on getting an education for high school seniors and beyond. Maya Frost writes from her family's experience, but she also includes anecdotes and advice from others that is insightful and would greatly benefit young adults. I think her perspective and advice on the role of community colleges in post secondary education is invaluable. My paperback from the library was published in 2009 and around 300 pages. It was a medium read. 4 out of 5
by Susan Jeffers is a great book I discovered by reading The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
. This hidden gem is for people who struggle with making decisions and even fear in general. Susan offers practical steps to overcome your fear, along with encouraging, personal stories and advice that I found simple yet profound. Her chapter on 'How to Make a No-Lose Decision' is gold! I'm glad I own a copy and I intent on reading it again. At just under 200 pages, my paperback was a medium read and well worth what I paid for it new. 4.5 out of 5.
by Spencer Johnson is essentially a parable about four characters and change. This well written book is a very quick read and will give you some good food for thought on how you can mitigate the affect change has on your life. Spencer includes tips on how to anticipate change, adapt better to it, and even enjoy it. At less than 100 pages in large type, many people could read this entire book in a sitting. Given the valuable content and presentation, for me it's a 4 out of 5.
I take public transit to work here in Calgary. I have found some good value in getting some reading, thinking, or vegging done while someone else worries about the traffic and road conditions. An older gentleman sat beside me on the way home from work last week and we got into a discussion about the book I was reading. After talking for a while, I asking him what he did for work, and he said he was a hydro-geologist in the oil industry. I asked him if that had provided him with any opportunity to travel. He consented that it definitely did, and proceeded to launch into a description of how he became a hydro-geologist.
