The Quarter-Life Crisis
It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that
there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn't know and may or may not
like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two,
but then get scared because you barely know where you are now. You start
realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you
thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever
met and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones.
What you do not realize is that they are realizing that too and are not really
cold or catty or mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.
You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be
doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have
to start at the bottom and are scared.
You miss the comforts of college, of groups, of socializing with the same
people on a constant basis. But then you realize that maybe they weren't so
great after all. You are beginning to understand yourself and what you want and
do not want. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing
and find yourself judging a bit more than usual because suddenly you realize
that you have certain boundaries in your life and add things to your list of
what is acceptable and what is not. You are insecure and then secure. You laugh
and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and
confused. Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with
dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away
and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.
You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such
damage to you or you lay in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent
enough to get to know better. You love someone but maybe love someone else too
and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you are not a bad person.
One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap and getting wasted and
acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions
and questions over and over and talk with your friends about the same topics
because you cannot seem to make a decision.
You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for
yourself and while wining the race would be great, right now you'd just like to
be a contender! What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates
to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we
can to figure this whole thing out.
