The Quarter Life Crisis

The other day, me and my friend James were discussing the trials and tribulations of our lives and came to the conclusion we are having quarter life crisis'. There comes a point in most people's life, usually in their 30's or 40's, where they suddenly realise there's a clock ticking and they're suddenly past the half way point. And that for the most part, nothing in their life is going to change particularly over the course of the next 20 years. This, is the mid-life crisis.

James and I thought we were being super original and coined the term 'Quarter Life Crisis' as a way to refer the feeling young adults get, where, as opposed to leading a stable monochromatic life, they have no idea what direction they're going in or where they're heading, and there's this sudden feeling of impending doom because you know that the next 5 years of your life can make or break you. Yet with this in the back of your mind, you sit on your laptop and scroll through Netflix until the early hours of every morning, only to get to 3am and once again have a mini-breakdown. And repeat.

Our dreams of originality were crashed though, when, after typing 'Quarter Life Crisis' into google, I discovered it actually is a thing, it's not just me and James being melodramatic, hooray!



The problem is, where the mid-life crisis isn't taken particularly seriously, especially by the husbands and wives of those going through it, the quarter-life crisis is taken even more of a joke. 'But you're young' 'You have nothing to worry about', 'You have no responsibility', 'You don't know how lucky you are', 'Now's your time to do anything you want!' Anything? Anything? Really. With half of us in complete and utter debt to the Government on a degree 'for the experience', another quarter in full time work and the final quarter desperately searching for some kind of way in to the world of work, is now really the time to hitch hike through Asia or move to Australia?

The Quarter Life Crisis generally hits when you have the realisation that in the next few years you could be in your dream job, travelling the world, on the property ladder, with a family or marriage on the cards... or... you will be living back at home with your parents, working in a minimum wage job as a means to an end. Suddenly you understand the term 'school days are the golden days' and you're paralyzed with indecision. Budgeting? Dating? Working? All of these things carry more and more weight as people start to think about your future for you, when all you want to do is hide under a bed. Suddenly the dreams of being a dolphin trainer (just me??) are looking dim, and you realise you have to get a real life adult job. I have friend now who're moved out with long term partners and children. They have children. How? How do they have children? I am children.

10 Signs You're Having Your Quarter-Life Crisis

Please tell me it's not just us with this fear of impending doom for no apparent reason? Where are all the 12 o'clock cocktail dates and the brunches and the sexy tall dark strangers they show us in the films? I think I'm going to put my onesie on and watch Disney films for the rest of the day, whilst I still can.

Ciao for Now!
x

6 comments

  1. Ha yes I totally know where you're coming from! It is so true that the next few years seem so crucial but I seriously don't feel ready for them! It feels like I am only 2 years away from graduating, and then my little bubble of security is going to pop and I'm going to have to know what to do next. Scary stuff haha! Hope you and James don't worry yourselves too much over it, it will all probably turn out fine, or it might not, oh god, how are we to know?! Great post :)

    Emily x

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  2. Don't worry, it's not just you! I've just finished uni, still waiting on a job to come my way, still waiting to move a few hundred miles away with my parents, still waiting for a group of new friends to come adopt me into their circle and my boyfriend dumped me a few days ago...I'm 22. I don't totally believe in all the 'time is ticking on' scenario, but I would like to be more sorted out in life before I'm in my late 20's..

    http://shaloulanlife.blogspot.co.uk/

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  3. I absolutely love this blog post, I'm sure it's definitely a post that loads of others can relate to as well :'). I'm going into my second year of university and still have no idea what direction I want to go in afterwards, it's scaring me, haha! :') xx

    www.clarasmindx.blogspot.com

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  4. I get this 100%! I'm just about to turn 20 and so much is changing. All I want to do is curl up in my doona and become a burrito. forget my responsibilities and the uncertainty of the future. I just keep telling myself its in the future for a reason, by the time we get they we will some what know what we have to do. hopefully. Great post x

    http://alittlebitirrelevant.blogspot.com.au/

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  5. Oh my God, only yesterday I was having a conversation exactly like this with my best friend. We came to the conclusion that we both are having a quarter life crisis. At least she is studying medicine and I am studying languages so my road is really unclear yet. And the though about having a family of my own soon is absolutely haunting me, I also know people my age who already have children and husbands but I feel like such a child most of the time and can't even imagine myself in that position yet. I have plans to travel the world and not raising children in the near future. You are definitely not the only one feeling like this! :) x

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  6. One year of uni to go and then what? D: And then what! *hides in bed with Nutella and spoon* Great (and scarily relatable) post!

    Minna xx
    www.minnabansal.blogspot.in

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