What would you do if, when young, you didn't need to work?

I would have my own internet radio station and play every type of music I could get my hands on.

Personally I would go to school and learn. Would be great to take classes on whatever interested you and not have the stress about living while going to school.

That said I would do a lot of travelling as well. And set up a couple of homes, one in Australia and one up here in Canada.

I would travel, taking interesting community classes like baking, cooking, scrapbooking, etc. I would join organizations in the community and volunteer. I would also go back to focusing on my riding and traveling to shows to gain more and more experience. I would visit old friends and family. Oh it would be soooo nice…

Buy a home of my own just so I have a base. Dedicate myself to a charitable cause and travel to support it. All the while making fantastic side trips to exotic and far flung locales, with a bit of hedonism thrown in for good measure. I can honestly say that as long as I was doing something worthwhile and for the betterment of myself and others; my parent’s wouldn’t have worried.

Two words…hookers and blow.

Seriously though, I’d travel, I’d experience life, I’d see a lot of movies and concerts and plays and such, I’d give money and time to causes (political, humanitarian and otherwise) that I felt were doing great things, I’d help out my friends and family and I’d put away a chunk of money just in case.

I’d sit on my couch and smile knowing that somehow I beat the system….. lol

I’d travel. First to Canada, starting on the east coast then on to the west. Then make my way down to South America all the way down to Patagonia and hop on a ship to Antarctica. My parents would probably worry that I might pick up a hitchhiker but other than that, they would be happy for me. They would probably be a little jealous also!

I would take classes in stuff that interested me and volunteer like crazy.

I’d travel. I’ve never gotten outside of North America, and I think I should.

Back when I graduated from college I would have 1) purchased a sail boat large enough to live aboard, 2) purchased 5 acres of land to build a house on someday, and 3) gone diving in various tropical seas all over the world. Eventually I would return, build the house to include a studio (and a library) and then become a painter and potter.

I’d be a doctor and run a low cost healthcare clinic.

It happened to me. When I got out of art school, my stepfather laid several thousand
dollars a year on me – okay, six. He gave his own children more; all of them did Good Works with their freedom and resources. To me he said, You’re an artist – a person needs time for that, don’t they?
It was like getting a grant. I lived carefully and had unbroken months every year in the studio. On the strength of a good portfolio I was able to get jobs teaching instead of doing temp secretarial work. Loved teaching. Getting paid to think about what you think about already? Cool.
In my early 30’s I acquired a helpful MA and opened a private practice as an art therapist. Reasonably remunerative. Parents amazed. Had thought I was stupid. Stepfather hadn’t. Bless his soul.

I would probably find a job that I wanted to do, rather than a job that I had to do for income.

I would travel. I would make films.

Heck, I’m way out of school and broke to boot, but I’m figuring out how to do that now!

I’d do traveling photography or travel & paint. I really wish I could wake up tomorrow and this be true…

I would be a photographer; that’s my goal anyway, it’s just that in this hypothetical, I would have money, which I definitely won’t when I graduate.

I’d be on a beach somewhere….

I would skateboard and catch fish. And travel places to do those things.

I would hang out with buster.

If I were so lucky as to have been independently wealthy as a student, I know I would have traveled more, and I suspect I would have gotten a PhD, which I always wanted to do. I’m sure I would have gotten a job or two, trying to do something good for society. The difference is, when the going got tough, or I found myself working with people I could not stand, it would be easier to leave. What a luxury that would have been!

What would I do? As much as I possibly could! :) I need to know how wealthy I am, I guess, but I’ll answer assuming I’m pretty damn rich.

First of all, I would travel and learn about other cultures. I’m not talking about going to a different country and staying in some fancy hotel. No, I’d try to delve into the actual culture as much as possible and try to experience life the way they do, for weeks at a time.

I would also spend my time getting involved with different organizations to try and better the world, even if the impact I made was small. I would love to do something like the people on “Whale Wars” because I think they’re doing something spectacular and I wish there were more people in the world like them.

I would also spend a lot of my time on art. I would take multiple classes because there’s so much I’m interested in and would want to learn to create. The possibilities are endless and just thinking about it makes me giddy! :)

Donating money for causes I believe in would also be on the top of my list.

I don’t even know… There’s so much I would do.

Travel, travel, travel…and watch movies, in the theatre, with popcorn, in the afternoon.

I would travel, and continue my education. Working full time in college was horrible; I was always too tired to do my best work, and too afraid that if I took fewer classes, I would be in school for all of my 20’s.

@april – Good one! I’d make films, too.

I would have joined the Peace Corps, or something like it. Maybe the Red Cross. Even now, at 41, I’d like to do work in disaster zones. With 3 kids that rely on me it’s not really feasible. :(

What I do best is teach, but I am not a teacher due to low pay, low prestige and school bureacracy. With independent wealth I could tutor or perhaps find work at an alternative school. If I were really ambitious and had sufficient cash, I would set up my own after school program for teaching math. For leisure, I would do a lot of traveling. I think I would also do a stint in the Peace Corps.

Honestly, I think I would be doing the same thing I’m doing now anyway.

- going to grad school (for the sheer joy of learning, knowledge, and doing research)
– volunteering for an animal rescue group
– working for a political cause

i think i’d get a job for the future, though it wouldn’t be a very time-consuming one, because if i didn’t have to get one and was young, i’d want to take that time to take advantage of stuff people of my age do. (i think that would probably be the case for me regardless of age actually).
i think i’d spend more time learning about things i’ve always been interested in, and putting more effort toward keeping friendships in good condition, etc. i feel like when i’m really dedicated to any kind of work, my relationships tend to feel as if they’re on the back burner.
and i’d really like to volunteer. i’d like to now, and i need to for service hours for school, but i feel like by the time i get out of school each day/for the weekend, all i want to do is sleep until i have to get up to do homework, etc.

— Pay my actors + dancers what they deserve.
— Have time to think more long term about what kind of theatre I want to do and how to train people + build community to support that.
— Build a theatre + studio space for our company, and begin some kind of intentional community around it.

I must say though, even though not having to worry about money would make things a lot easier,
(a) I’m finding that I’m able to do what I want anyway and
(b) I’m not sure it would be necessarily healthy for me to not earn money…

For example, if I didn’t have to worry about having to make ends meet, I’d probably teach less. And yet, teaching actually grounds me right now; it brings me in contact with young people and makes me part of society. If I didn’t have to work, or if my actors took their salary for granted, there is the real danger that the theatre we do becoming too introverted.

To heck with jobs, paying or not. Charity work is still work – and I would avoid that like the plague. I would travel and see the things that interest me. I would go to England and pay my respects at my ancestors graves. I would visit their castles. I would like to see the ancient ruins in South America, too. I would take a long cruise and let people wait on me. I would play in the ocean on a beach in the Bahamas. In other words, I would not contribute to society at all and be a total spoiled brat! What else is personal wealth for?

It happened to me, in the beginning of college. Parents died and left my brother and I quite comfortable. I bought a cute, small house, paid off some debts of people I loved, switched my major to please me and not my parents, and when I graduated I took off backpacking around the world (rather cheaply, actually) for a year, visiting 14 developing countries, and learned more in that year than probably all of college.