Quarter Life Crisis

Nobody warns you that your mid-to-late 20s/30s are as difficult as they are. And really, they are difficult.

Why are we so afraid to admit that?


It totally makes sense. There's a lot of life to live during these 10 years--what with graduating college (and/or grad school); trying to find a first, second, or third career; searching for a partner and a place to settle down; breaking away from your family of origin; surviving your first layoff; moving every other year (or at least it feels that way); the list could go on.

No wonder so many of us struggle with depression, anxiety, and delayed adolescence. Who in their right mind would ever want to be an adult and enter the real world with all its responsibilities and stress?

So far, I've found few things I truly enjoy about adulthood. They are numbered here, in no particular order:

1. Getting married to my best friend
2. Ice cream for dinner
3. Bed time is any time
4. Super Mario Brothers 3 = the best video game. Ever.
5. Non-school reading
6. Wine
7. Eating out with friends
8. Weekends

In the end, I think change is always at the root of crisis--whether it's emotional, professional, or ecological. And the funny thing about change is that as it's taking place, it feels constant and overwhelming. Perhaps that's why these years are so hard. Instead of transitioning from one grade to another, we're moving into the rest of our lives. Which can be likened to losing baby teeth, learning to walk, and taking the BAR all at the same time. Add this to being denied loans from the bank of Mom & Dad, and I'd say crisis is the perfect way to describe it.

But here's the other funny thing about change: It can also bring hope--thank you Barack Obama.

So, to all my fellow Quarter Life Crisis Managers out there, I salute you. This sucks and it's hard. But it's temporary.