A 34-year-old woman who left her Wall Street legal career to spend a year camping across the American West left her best friend, Erin, stunned and question their 16-year-old friendship
Allison Snyder, who built her career as a legal professional on Wall Street, decided to leave her demanding corporate job to pursue her dream of travelling. Snyder and Erin had both pursued challenging corporate careers in East Coast cities after graduating from college and had built their friendship around shared experiences, ambitions and lifestyles.
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Why Did Allison Snyder Leave Her Career?
According to Snyder's first person account, she had increasingly wanted a different kind of life but had not fully communicated the extent of that desire to her friend, or even been completely honest about it with herself.
Snyder stated that she often spoke to Erin about the strain her career had been putting on her but never really discussed the possibility of quitting, let alone discussing the decision to live out of a used car and camp.
Rather than simply changing her job, Snyder opted for a drastic lifestyle change by choosing to explore the US while camping. Her decision meant living off her savings and giving up the comfortable lifestyle she was used to.
Why Was Her Best Friend Shocked
Snyder and Erin had met during their first year of college, where both were scholarship athletes on a competitive Division I track team, and later pursued similar corporate careers in East Coast cities.
Their friendship had revolved around shared experiences, including travel, dining out and spa visits, but Snyder's decision to live on her savings while camping threatened the familiar lifestyle that they had build together according to Snyder's first hand account published by Business Insider.
When Snyder announced her plan to spend a year exploring the American West, Erin reportedly responded, "You're joking, right?"
Snyder stated that Erin's reaction was particularly difficult because she was the friend whose support mattered the most to Snyder, and she was worried that their increasingly different lifestyles could create distance between them.
Although, Erin helped Snyder pack up her apartment, she continued to express doubts about the decision and what it would mean for Snyder's future.
First Night Alone In The Wilderness
Snyder's transition to outdoor living was not entirely comfortable. In her essay, she recounts that she sent Erin a photograph of her tent overlooking the Colorado River on her first night camping alone.
She admitted to Erin that she was frightened. Erin responded with encouragement and enthusiasm, similar to the support she had offered Snyder during earlier challenges in their friendship. This exchange marked an important development in their relationship.
As Snyder continued her journey, she and Erin began talking more openly about her experiences. She recounted one incident in which poor planning during a trail run resulted in Snyder spending the night in a stranger's car, an experience she shared with Erin over the phone to laugh about her mistake.
Snyder also sent her friend a birthday photograph taken from a peak at an elevation of 14,000 feet. Snyder stated that over time, Erin began moving beyond her initial reservations and trying to understand why Snyder had chosen a different way of living.
The Arizona Backpacking Trip That Tested Their Friendship
One of the most significant episodes in Snyder's account occurred when Erin asked her to join her on a backpacking trip, despite never having taken that kind of a trip before.
The pair spent two nights in Arizona's Superstition Mountains. Their contrasting levels of comfort in the wilderness became apparent during the trip as Snyder was more at ease in the outdoors while Erin was more tentative.
This difference became particularly prominent when they were searching for a source of water and Erin questioned whether Snyder knew how to read a map. Snyder recalls being so frustrated in that moment that she thought she would never take such a trip with Erin again.
The disagreement, however, did not end their outdoor adventures and Snyder stated that they went on similar trips many more times.
How Their Friendship Evolved
Snyder describes how the two women gradually learnt to accept each others' different lifestyles rather than allowing those differences to define their relationship.
Despite continuing to live two very different lives, the two women remain close, with Snyder describing Erin as her anchor.
This account highlights how a major career change can alter the dynamics of a long-standing friendship without necessarily ending it, as the two women learned to maintain their friendship despite choosing different paths.
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