The quarter life crisis

When I was younger I had it all figured out. I was going to have a successful career, get married, have three babies and live happily ever after – all before the age of 30. I’m 25 now, so I’m pretty sure that isn’t going to happen (especially due to my incessant need to date juice-boxes). It seemed liked we all grew up with this notion that it was the thing to do: get a degree and become a responsible adult. But somewhere along the way, this ‘plan’ got messed up. For whatever reason, we’re no longer under the societal pressures of having to figure out life by 25. Maybe it’s a good thing because we aren’t settling for an unfulfilling/mediocre job or that we’re not marrying the first guy/girl who is just kind of okay (or that knocks us up?) But we also now have this new void to fill – if we’ve pushed getting married/having babies or delving into a successful career to later in life, then what the hell are we supposed to be doing now and what’s supposed to make us feel like we’ve accomplished something so we feel satisfied or happy? What are the new standards in which we’re supposed to live by? So starts the quarter life crisis. 

Unfortunately, being 25 and all, my life is still in flux and currently in a quarter life crisis (like many of my friends). The quarter life crisis is a hot topic of discussion and sees us often contemplating and second-guessing every major decision we’ve made from the day we turned 19 including what we majored in and our current job situation to who we’re dating and moving out in life. We’re at an awkward in-between stage where we feel like we’re on the brink of being grown-ups and maybe should push forward into adulthood but still feel like we’re being held back by our youth. But here's the thing, we often forget that we’re still young and don’t need to know exactly where we’ll be in 10 years because WE HAVE TIME. When in doubt, the ‘Rachel’ math comes into play (you know what I’m talking about, from Friends when Rachel turns 30?) Work backwards from the age you want to have life figured out so you can determine when you have to start worrying about it and hopefully, like me, you realize that you have at least 3-4 years before you need to freak out.

Moral of the story, the quarter life crisis is totally a thing and while it may feel like everybody around you has settled into adulthood, know that there are many of us out there still trying to figure out our shit. As long as you’re making proactive steps towards what you want/what makes you happy; you’re not remaining stagnant in a place of indifference, holding onto things because they’re comfortable (whether it be a person or job) and constantly challenging yourself with new things, then you’ll be just fine. So, make mistakes, take chances and get messy (bonus points if you know where that's from) because life will work itself out. ^L