I've worked some kind of job at all times since I was 16. Painting houses, cashier at a grocery store, retail stores, lab consultant, summer research, internshi

I've worked some kind of job at all times since I was 16. Painting houses, cashier at a grocery store, retail stores, lab consultant, summer research, internships, and now job job job. No long breaks. Just work. I spent my teens and college years thinking the kids who traveled all summer were idiots. That they weren't contributing to society. Now I'm 27 and wishing I had taken a break.. Done something because I wanted to, not because it was "what you did". I thought that being a "year behind" would be disastrous for my career. Well guess what.. 1 year is nothing when you have to work for 50 more. If you are young and able to just LIVE... do it. If living is working on your own startup, do it. If it's building a working replica of a PDP machine out of legos, do it. Just get out there. There's plenty of time for work.