"Life Expereience" or just denial?

So I am 21 years old. In my last two terms of college (which I am graduating early from). I work, go to school, and have been very successful in the business of teaching music since I was 13, so it will be nice to finally have my degree and be able to teach in public schools on a salary. This in addition to having a supportive family and close friends, as well as a really good guy as a companion, put me in good standing for when I graduate and am ready to "enter the real world" so to speak.

However...

I have been advised by numerous professors that it is good to just go out and be young while you are young. Specifically travel and gain "life experience" and to not be so worried about career, because according to them one year doesn't make a huge difference. I understand their point, but I can't help worrying over how it will affect the rest of my life. At the same time, I have this overwhelming urge to do just that and disregard all of my responsibilities, although I have no idea what I am running from or towards even. I suppose that part of it is that once I get a job, it will likely be teach, teach, and more teaching and then off to grad school so I can keep teaching. It seems it would be harder to take the time to just uproot my lifestyle then, especially if I end up getting married and have a family. Perhaps the pressure to just go right after I graduate and avoid "real life" is a result of this feeling of a missed opportunity if I don't act now.

Has anybody had a similar experience? Or experienced this? Any thoughts?

i think it's an enriching experience to travel and take time off, and yes, i agree with your professors. one year off isn't going to make a huge deal in your career or seriously set you back. especially if you are not taking a year off while you are in school, but even that won't necessarily hurt.

i think as long as you explain on your resume/CV about your employment gap. one HR person told me that unexplained gaps like that can make them nervous - what if you were in jail!? they say, better to say you were backpacking in europe. etc.

Yes. I have often thought that it might even enhance my chances of getting a job. Especially if while I am away I am able to do some teaching in another country, research, or volunteering working with children etc.

I guess I always just wonder if that is me seeking to find reasons to support my impulsive desires, or if they are actually valid reasons for a valid option.

it's ok to have impulsive desires!! and you're planning them too, which doesn't make them THAT impulsive.

and as you point out, these experiences can be good for your career too - making new contacts, learning new languages, etc...