My quarter life crisis

In the 25 years of existence, we’ve been a lot of people. We’ve been an under-confident kid in school, and we’ve been the popular girl in college. Sometimes we’ve been the shy girl who sits alone for lunch, and we’ve been the life of the party. We’ve spent months in isolation after a break up, and then we’ve spent 6 months of non-stop travel. We’ve been students, and we’ve been mentors. We’ve been fit and we’ve been unhealthy. We’ve been happy and we’ve been sad. We’ve been a part of communities and we’ve also been lonely. We’ve been careless and we’ve been responsible. Boring and we’ve been entertaining. We’ve rested, we’ve laughed, we’ve loved, we’ve lost, we’ve grieved, we’ve moved on. We’ve seen ups and downs and lefts and rights and somehow managed to power through this topsy turvy journey of life. It’s impossible to encapsulate the versions of us we’ve put into the world in the limited life we’ve lived. But it’s heartening to look back, isn’t it? It’s easy to be proud of the progress we’ve made, from unaware children to barely aware teenagers to somewhat aware adults. We look back with love, with smiles, with nostalgia and sometimes with regret.

However, it is difficult to look forward. Sometimes, the future seems like the scariest place to be, with the creeping fear that our best times are already behind us. That we may never fall in love again, or find a new best friend, or pick up a new hobby or find ourselves invested in a new passion. We feel like by this age we must have put down our roots, defined what happiness looks like for us and put together the template for the rest of our lives. The fear to experiment and get out of our comfort zone is higher today and the future does not look as bright and hopeful as it did when we were 18. When we were kids, it was easier to image our futures because we knew we’d go to college, make friends, graduate, fall in love, get a job. But now that we’re past these milestones, it’s difficult to imagine what the next milestone really is. We may not echo with the same landmarks that are parents do, and this leaves us as a generation in a very confused and lost place.

But let me tell you what I tell myself through my self-proclaimed quarter life crisis- if we were able to be a 100 versions of ourself in our life so far, we’re going to be a 100 more versions in all the life we have left. The world continues to remain within our grasp, even if at times it feels like its not. We now have the financial resources and the mental maturity to be able to take risks, find joy and redefine happiness. Life is beautiful and it does not stop being beautiful at the age of 25. It will continue to shock you, and surprise you, and astonish you, because that’s just the nature of life.

Growth is a characteristic of life, so never stop! Be invincible, be a force of nature, and never stop jumping to your next adventure. Continue to believe in the beauty of the world and the power of your potential to design a life you love. Don’t let something as uncontrollable as time stop you.

And if it ever feels like life is getting slow or monotonous or intolerable, just believe that the universe is giving you some time to refuel before it sets you off on the next big adventure. Have faith. Don’t let your fear take the steering wheel of your life or let society force you to put a break to your journey. You don’t have to have all the answers. You don’t have to have it all figured out. That would just be the most boring way to live. Go back to the drawing board of your life, pick up newer colors, and start painting. The canvas is endless, and the paint brush is in your hand. Design and redesign your life till it feels like yours again.

So mourn the people who left, say a heartfelt goodbye to the versions of you that you are not anymore, lay a flower to the grave of broken dreams and then look forward and march on. The next season of your life is almost here, with new characters, new plot lines and unimaginable character development.

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