Quarter life crisis?? anyone??

[lynn]

O.K., I know most people would probably go "huh?" when they first see the subject line but I'm seriously considering the possibility. Lately I've been feeling super irritated at work, eventhough the pile of paperwork on my desk is getting as high as me, I'm still bored and I spend most of my time cruising the Internet (ahem, mostly DF, actually....), pretty soon I'll probably be buried in the mountain of papers...

One of my co-workers suggested that I might be suffering from quarter life crisis (kind of like early mid-life crisis??) and he gave me some real-life examples. He moved to Canada when he was 25 and many of his girlfriends got married at the same age (is that why the avg age for marriage is around 25-26 :roll: ??) or had major changes in their career. I'm in the middle of job searching (since the first option isn't available to me:lol so I guess I kind of fit the description.

So.....bottom line, is anyone who's in the same age group suffering from similar symptoms? Or some words of wisdom for those who had smooth passage through the quarter century celebration?

 

[macha]

I wholeheartedly comiserate. I'd go into detail, but I'm being monitored by Rose Dawson's Ghost. :lol:

 

[africana]

ME TOO!! Oh my god!! I was so thinking about this issue AGAIN not one hour ago
I think I've been having qtr life crises since I turned 22 (when I graduated from undergrad). I'll be 25 in 3 months and I'm still having that blah-blah feeling about life issues
It's mostly dancing that keeps me feeling, keeps me high on life. I've been working professionally since I was 19, so that could be part of it. the career is probably what I would still pick but it's not seeming to be the all in all, even though I feel reasonably challenged. It doesn't engage me as it used to, like a lot of things though
Most of it ties back to dancing, too much thinking about dancing. I find myself planning future future vacations for the sole purpose of dancing

At least I still have one milestone/goal to keep me relatively focused for about a another year before I settle down completely. I just hope it won't put me in too much of a rut. I guess I'll have more time to innundate myself with dancing when that time comes

I think quite a few of my aquaintances are going through this too, but most of them deal with it by being "professional" students hah

 

[macha]

Is it that gut-clencing sense of hopelessness, as if you've lost control or grasp on your own life and it's pouring through your hands like water? Like you know you're going to wake up fifty someday, and will you still be "here", wherever that is?

I think I've watched Office Space too often lately. That or the heat and combination of things finally "got to me" and addled my fwagile wittle mahnd.

 

[africana]

I think I've watched Office Space too often lately. That or the heat and combination of things finally "got to me" and addled my fwagile wittle mahnd.

waaahhahaha :lol:
that movie was soooo creepy, particularly after last summer with my first experience working in a cubicle :lol:

yeah pretty much that feeling of seeing and doing so much that nothing seems all that exciting

 

[dnquark]

Quarter life crisis here, checking in. Going nowhere in my field with no idea how to switch, etc. Wish I could go back to undergrad and pick a different major... "I wish I could go back to college.."

If you haven't yet seen _Avenue Q_ or listened to the soundtrack - do it now. It's amazing.

 

[lynn]

Yikes, looks like i'm not the only one who's suffering from the QC syndrome (hmm, i wonder if they have a medical term for it??)

Is it that gut-clencing sense of hopelessness, as if you've lost control or grasp on your own life and it's pouring through your hands like water? Like you know you're going to wake up fifty someday, and will you still be "here", wherever that is?

:applause: Yep, that pretty much sums it up!

Quarter life crisis here, checking in. Going nowhere in my field with no idea how to switch, etc. Wish I could go back to undergrad and pick a different major... "I wish I could go back to college.."

Ditto with the last statement. Don't worry, you can't be in worse place than i am. When I graduated from college, it was the year the stock market crashed and there was no jobs in my field so I ended up doing something that's completely unrelated to my major......now i'm in the middle of job searching b/c my current job offers no growth opportunity.....sighs....

 

[lynn]

ME TOO!! Oh my god!! I was so thinking about this issue AGAIN not one hour ago
I think I've been having qtr life crises since I turned 22 (when I graduated from undergrad). I'll be 25 in 3 months and I'm still having that blah-blah feeling about life issues
It's mostly dancing that keeps me feeling, keeps me high on life. I've been working professionally since I was 19, so that could be part of it. the career is probably what I would still pick but it's not seeming to be the all in all, even though I feel reasonably challenged. It doesn't engage me as it used to, like a lot of things though
Most of it ties back to dancing, too much thinking about dancing. I find myself planning future future vacations for the sole purpose of dancing

At least I still have one milestone/goal to keep me relatively focused for about a another year before I settle down completely. I just hope it won't put me in too much of a rut. I guess I'll have more time to innundate myself with dancing when that time comes

I think quite a few of my aquaintances are going through this too, but most of them deal with it by being "professional" students hah

Look on the bright side, at least you're only 24, i'm turning 26 next week and I'm still nowhere resolving the problem (hmm, i wonder if everything will be better when i find a more satisfying job :roll: ??)

As for dancing, that's kind of the side-effect of my quarter life crisis. I was feeling so unnerving and irritated a couple of months ago, i decided to checkout every available studio in the area and voila, here i am!

Anyways, i gotta go back and stare at the empty office space.....hmm, wonder if it helps if i paint my 4 walls red??

 

[Leah]

Yep, 25 here and I think I am also going thru the quarter-life crisis (granted, I'll be very happy if I live to 100.....).

Actually I think I have been going thru crises since teenagerhood but they have morphed a bit. This is the first time that I am feeling totally "blah" about school/work. Not sure where I'll go when I am done, but it is not going to be what I am "studying for" (scientific bench research).

Know when someone says something to you, about you, and you can feel at that moment that it will change you? A few months ago a friend said, "Leah, you have just got to learn to go with the flow," and I have been working on it - with some success - ever since. (A little birdie echoed the thought over the weekend, and it helps to be reminded ). I don't claim to have all the answers, but I think one of them is the ability to laugh at oneself, and to move forward fearlessly.

Along these lines, I just read the book "who moved my cheese." Anyone read it? It is about addressing change. It didn't resonate for me as the introduction had promised it would, but I can see how that the book could offer some useful insights.

PS - Is the average age for marriage really 25/26??

 

[lynn]

Leah, is it "who moved my cheese" or "who stole my cheese"?? I didn't read the book but one of my friend sent me a powerpoint slide summarizing the point (yes, I'm THAT lazy). I guess I'll have to go back and dig it out of my archived emails....

Know when someone says something to you, about you, and you can feel at that moment that it will change you? A few months ago a friend said, "Leah, you have just got to learn to go with the flow," and I have been working on it - with some success - ever since. (A little birdie echoed the thought over the weekend, and it helps to be reminded ). I don't claim to have all the answers, but I think one of them is the ability to laugh at oneself, and to move forward fearlessly.

I agree whole heartedly except I'm still learning to take criticisms (esp negative ones) without getting defensive. I think when we survive the QC, that's when we truly become more mature and confident with ourselves. But boy, talk about growing pains....

 

[africana]

I'm not sure QC has much to do with being immature, to an extent it's a feeling of not having much *motivated* direction, a kind of restlessness rather than growing pains. for me in particular is mostly about not having much else to strive for

I feel like I've been mature since my preteens. I couldn't stand people my age back in high school, that bit hasn't changed much....

Well maybe I'll move to Canada next year year lol

 

[Leah]

I agree whole heartedly except I'm still learning to take criticisms (esp negative ones) without getting defensive. I think when we survive the QC, that's when we truly become more mature and confident with ourselves. But boy, talk about growing pains....

jeeze, do i hear you on that one.

i still can't take criticism either. this is especially hard when you are your own worst critic. and with society's values and expectations being what they are, and with people (not least of all the american media) detailing how inadequate your life is, it take courage to determine for yourself what matters, to work towards that, and to forgive yourself of your minor sins.

i am hoping it gets easier from here.

ps - it is "who moved my cheese..." about mice and littlepeople who find their cheese and get all complacent eating it in the maze, until the cheese gets moved. the mice simply run back out into the maze and look for more, while the people feel entitled and fearful and overanalyze the situation and sit paralyzed in fear before addressing change.

 

[lynn]

Hmm, sounds like i should pick up a copy of "who moved my cheese"....after I finish the latest HP series, of course!

 

[etchuck]

Sorry, but I'm a third-lifer. As for crisis... well, I guess it depends.

I will admit though, life does get better after 30, single or not.

 

[lynn]

Sorry, but I'm a third-lifer. As for crisis... well, I guess it depends.

I will admit though, life does get better after 30, single or not.

Wow, soemthing to look forward to!