The quarter-life crisis
The mid life crisis is a concept we grasp at a relatively young age. It's reflected in books and movies; depicting middle aged, balding men with sports cars while middle aged women run off with the gardener in an attempt to revive some passion in their life. Yet, as the generation of living vicariously through other people on Instagram, it's hard to not feel in your twenties that you haven't achieved enough and longing for change, thus the quarter life crisis creeps in. Here are the common factors which contribute in this day and age to making young adults stress about their life decisions (namely my friends and I):
Jobs/ Careers:
No one told us in school that if we didn't start attaining work experience at the age of 6, that we'd unlikely step foot in the industry of our dreams without an extended hand. You then get stuck in the classic situation of working for money vs working your dream job for peanuts. This is made even more painful by seeing reality TV stars brand themselves as CEOs for selling teeth whitening kit and driving around in Range Rovers at 21. It's so easy to compare yourself to people you follow online who are appear to be living their best life while you work all week to still feel broke, but I try to remember these people are the minority and it's not me not working hard enough. If we were all CEOs in our twenties what would we have to look forward to? Especially since my friend's retirement age came in at SEVENTY FIVE the other day. Oh well, only another 52 years to go...
Travelling:
I think you're never going to feel like you've got it right with this one. You either feel you have settled and haven't seen as much of the world as everyone else appears to be, or you're made to feel guilty for not getting on that career ladder sooner. The crack in the care-free traveller philosophy is that it actually costs a significant amount of money to travel, especially if you add excursions and nights out (which you inevitably will). This is something I personally feel I haven't done enough of and hope I some day have the money and the opportunity to travel some more. If not I can just search hashtag #wanderlust and pretend I'm there. (IT'S NOT THE SAME ON THE INTERNET THO:( )
Fitness:
I swear no one was as concerned about fitness 10 years ago as they are now?! Either way, I know at 16 I didn't care about doing stretches for my bad back or meal prepping and I'm so lazy with it even now. It's a positive thing people are in to it obviously (I say as I back in to the bushes eating lemon drizzle cake) but it is SO easy to compare yourself to other people online and make yourself ill over it. Your worth isn't how many likes your gym selfie gets on Instagram, but if you're working hard on your body and want to show it off then you do you. However, I am mad that all of a sudden everyone is sick at yoga and I never got the memo, I have the flexibility of a middle aged man with a pot belly. *Realisation kicks in that I am actually Homer Simpson*
Relationships:
I'm at this really amusing stage in life where some of my friends are married and pregnant and the others are mindlessly swiping through tinder and getting with randomers on a night out. I can't even get in to dating in 2018, that is a whole separate blog post, but... it's not good! My mum doesn't understand that guys do not talk to me on a night out or ever approach me in general. Witnessing people around you so happy can make the the late night swiping and dry spells all that more bitter, which is why it's essential to have great friends so you can focus on the more important things in life, like the sesh.
Houses/ rent:
The next person that makes a patronising comment about me living at home with my parents is getting a Jackie Chan chop to the throat. HAVE YOU SEEN HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS TO MOVE OUT ON YOUR OWN?! How do single people move out... just asking for a friend? So many choices and all of them feel like you're throwing away money at some point...Do you rent in London? Do you try to get a mortgage off your income alone? Do you consider buying with a friend... but could that be detrimental to the friendship? It's basically common knowledge that unless financially you're in a wealthy position, single people will remain living at home unless they rent - for someone their parent's age to tell them that renting is just throwing away money... Yeah thanks Carol.
This is only a vague outline of the pinnacle moaning points for my friends and I in this generation and what we feel we're up against. It is actually so ridiculous that we feel we should get a degree, travel the world, get a career, move in with a significant other and maintain our sanity by the age of 25. The pressure is real, and if reading this you can relate to just one point then you know you're not alone. it's a daunting time with big life decisions that shape your future! Or if that fails it's a time when you can still be a bit of a fuck up and it's semi - endearing because you're not in your 30s.... Shit....
Jobs/ Careers:
No one told us in school that if we didn't start attaining work experience at the age of 6, that we'd unlikely step foot in the industry of our dreams without an extended hand. You then get stuck in the classic situation of working for money vs working your dream job for peanuts. This is made even more painful by seeing reality TV stars brand themselves as CEOs for selling teeth whitening kit and driving around in Range Rovers at 21. It's so easy to compare yourself to people you follow online who are appear to be living their best life while you work all week to still feel broke, but I try to remember these people are the minority and it's not me not working hard enough. If we were all CEOs in our twenties what would we have to look forward to? Especially since my friend's retirement age came in at SEVENTY FIVE the other day. Oh well, only another 52 years to go...
Travelling:
I think you're never going to feel like you've got it right with this one. You either feel you have settled and haven't seen as much of the world as everyone else appears to be, or you're made to feel guilty for not getting on that career ladder sooner. The crack in the care-free traveller philosophy is that it actually costs a significant amount of money to travel, especially if you add excursions and nights out (which you inevitably will). This is something I personally feel I haven't done enough of and hope I some day have the money and the opportunity to travel some more. If not I can just search hashtag #wanderlust and pretend I'm there. (IT'S NOT THE SAME ON THE INTERNET THO:( )
Fitness:
I swear no one was as concerned about fitness 10 years ago as they are now?! Either way, I know at 16 I didn't care about doing stretches for my bad back or meal prepping and I'm so lazy with it even now. It's a positive thing people are in to it obviously (I say as I back in to the bushes eating lemon drizzle cake) but it is SO easy to compare yourself to other people online and make yourself ill over it. Your worth isn't how many likes your gym selfie gets on Instagram, but if you're working hard on your body and want to show it off then you do you. However, I am mad that all of a sudden everyone is sick at yoga and I never got the memo, I have the flexibility of a middle aged man with a pot belly. *Realisation kicks in that I am actually Homer Simpson*
Relationships:
I'm at this really amusing stage in life where some of my friends are married and pregnant and the others are mindlessly swiping through tinder and getting with randomers on a night out. I can't even get in to dating in 2018, that is a whole separate blog post, but... it's not good! My mum doesn't understand that guys do not talk to me on a night out or ever approach me in general. Witnessing people around you so happy can make the the late night swiping and dry spells all that more bitter, which is why it's essential to have great friends so you can focus on the more important things in life, like the sesh.
Houses/ rent:
The next person that makes a patronising comment about me living at home with my parents is getting a Jackie Chan chop to the throat. HAVE YOU SEEN HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS TO MOVE OUT ON YOUR OWN?! How do single people move out... just asking for a friend? So many choices and all of them feel like you're throwing away money at some point...Do you rent in London? Do you try to get a mortgage off your income alone? Do you consider buying with a friend... but could that be detrimental to the friendship? It's basically common knowledge that unless financially you're in a wealthy position, single people will remain living at home unless they rent - for someone their parent's age to tell them that renting is just throwing away money... Yeah thanks Carol.
This is only a vague outline of the pinnacle moaning points for my friends and I in this generation and what we feel we're up against. It is actually so ridiculous that we feel we should get a degree, travel the world, get a career, move in with a significant other and maintain our sanity by the age of 25. The pressure is real, and if reading this you can relate to just one point then you know you're not alone. it's a daunting time with big life decisions that shape your future! Or if that fails it's a time when you can still be a bit of a fuck up and it's semi - endearing because you're not in your 30s.... Shit....
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