When I finally chose myself – I ripped off the heavy coat off my shoulders and I started discovering who I was.
I had landed in San Francisco airport terrified I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. And somehow, through all the mess, I walked out of that summer with a stronger spine and a fuller heart. The girl who landed with no plan left with a deeper identity. Not because everything went smoothly, but because it didn’t, and that was even better.
From rebellion to revelation: my accidental sabbatical
In the summer of 2002, I stood in the arrivals hall at San Francisco International Airport with a flimsy backpack, $200 in my pocket, and a heart full of uncertainty. Alongside two friends, I had secured a J-1 visa under the guise of working at a casino in Atlantic City. But our true ambition lay westward—in the granite cliffs of Yosemite.
Our plan was audacious: bypass the assigned jobs, head to California, find under-the-table work, and climb. We landed in Lake Tahoe, pooling our scant resources to rent a car and secure a motel room in Kings Beach. The first week was chaotic—returning the rental car in Reno, hitchhiking back, and desperately seeking employment. Fortune favored us; we landed customer service roles at the cable car building in Squaw Valley, earning $9 an hour.
Life was unstable. We couch-surfed, squatted, and eventually found solace on the carpeted floor of a kind stranger named Andrew. Despite the hardships, the community embraced us. We were invited to weekly bouldering nights at Dan and Ann’s backyard—a hub for Tahoe’s climbing legends. That summer, I didn’t just earn a living; I found belonging.
An unexpected promotion to breakfast server at High Camp brought both joy and a lesson in accountability. Celebrating with tequila led to a missed first shift. Facing my boss, Jerry Bukowski, I confessed. His response: “You were already fired. But your honesty is the only reason I’m giving you another shot.” That moment taught me the value of authenticity over perfection.
As summer waned, our trio became a duo, and eventually, I stood alone, contemplating the return to Poland and university. But the thought of reverting to my former life felt suffocating. Instead, I chose the unknown, writing heartfelt letters to my parents and university dean, explaining my decision to explore South America.
The wild, uncertain path that transformed everything
Landing in Santiago with $4,000 hidden in my sock, I embarked on a journey through Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. I climbed peaks, learned Spanish, hitchhiked across provinces, and embraced the kindness of strangers. From sharing goat meat in a fire-lit hut to bridge jumping with new friends, every experience peeled back layers, revealing a self I hadn’t known existed.
This unplanned sabbatical wasn’t a detour; it was a crucible. I returned not as the obedient, reliable girl who left but as a woman forged by adventure, resilience, and self-discovery. I learned that sometimes, the most profound growth comes not from meticulously laid plans but from embracing the wild, uncertain path.
Activities you engaged in during your sabbatical
During my sabbatical, I immersed myself in a wild mix of adventure, survival, and deep personal transformation.
- Rock climbed in Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Patagonia, and Rio
- Hitchhiked thousands of miles across South America
- Found work in mountain towns to get by handing out trail maps, serving breakfast at a mountaintop lodge, living off garlic bread and tips
- Learned Spanish on the road
- Recited poetry in Polish during storms
- Jumped off bridges, shared goat meat with gauchos, and made lifelong friends in the unlikeliest places
- Navigated foreign landscapes, trusted strangers, slept on carpets and in huts
- Danced through Brazil with a firecracker of a woman I met at 22,000 feet.
Every step stripped away old identities. This wasn’t just a break, it was a reckoning. I left obedient and returned unruly, raw, and fully alive.
How long was your sabbatical? 70 weeks
Did HOW you work change at all, post-sabbatical?
Committed to taking significantly more time off (e.g. 4 day workweek, or summer’s off)
Describe any changes you made in your life post-sabbatical:
Started following my intuition, moved all around the world and built a solo coaching company with 300K revenue/year
Why do you think others should (or shouldn’t) take sabbaticals?
I believe sabbaticals are not just helpful; they’re essential. Especially in a world that rewards constant productivity, taking intentional time away is one of the most radical things a person can do.
Sabbaticals give us space to question who we’ve become by default and who we might become by choice. They shake up the illusion of control, strip away false identities, and return us to what actually matters. They’re particularly powerful at life’s transition points: after loss, burnout, career shifts, divorce, or simply that quiet inner knowing that says, this isn’t it.
In those moments, clarity doesn’t come from more thinking. It comes from stepping away. From immersion in a different rhythm. From silence, sweat, beauty, risk, or stillness.
Sabbaticals aren’t escapes. They’re returns. Not to what was, but to who we are underneath all the noise.
If someone is feeling stuck, disoriented, or like they’ve outgrown the life they spent years building, a sabbatical can be the most honest next step. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s real.
You can connect with Marta Czajkowska here.
Interested in more stories about solo sabbaticals that transform your identity? Check out Xiu Ling’s story.
