"I want to be a fireman, I want to be a doctor, I want to be a lawyer, I want to be an astronaut, I want to be a singer/model/actress, I want to be...."
Growing up, I remember being asked "What do you want to be when you grow up" all the time. Now, almost 25 years later, I have come to reflect on this question as I am now considered an "adult." But what really is growing up and what does being an adult entail? My quarter century birthday is coming up and there are still a million things I haven't done, things I feel like I should have done, but somehow never got around to doing.
It seems that everyone looks forward to being twenty-one - you're allowed to go to bars and legally drink. Then you spend the next few years being glad that you can go to bars and drink. Twenty-two is alright, Twenty-three is kewl, Twenty-four is fun and then BA-BAM. You turn or are turning twenty-five and suddenly, it's not so cool anymore. I mean what are the perks of turning the big 2-5? Hmmm you can now rent a car without paying more and lower car insurance. This is not what I called thrilling or a "yippie moment." What I think of is "Oh em gee, you're only five years away from being thirty!!"
You start to analyze every aspect of your life. Where is it going? Or perhaps you start analyzing the person you're in a relationship with. Are they the one? If not, why am I wasting my time? I'm almost thirty! What if I'm thirty and all my friends are married and I'm not?!" You think of all the 'you're-a-grown-up-now deadlines' (marriage, home, career, babies, etc.). Chances are by now, you know several couples who are getting married and several couples who have children and you're like "Whoa, I'm no where near there!!"
You might also start to think about all the things in life that you haven't done yet. I still haven't traveled to *insert country*, I still haven't _____. What about professional life? Perhaps the job you currently hold is great, but is it something you are passionate about? Do you love your job? If not, then what are you passionate about?
Maybe this doesn't happen to everyone, but it certainly happened to me. It's the whole disparity between perception and reality thing that's got me thinking and asking; Where is my magical harry potter transformation into grown-up-ness? Why haven't I suddenly become all those things I thought grown-ups were supposed to be?
All in all, I think twenty-five is an age where you discover who you really are. What do I mean by that? I mean finding out what we've always loved deep down; that something that makes us different from everyone else. I think as young adults, we know what our passions are, but as we get older we get so caught up in life we forget about it. In high school, most individuals don't really care about things you feel passionately about as you are still in that high school bubble. Then after the bubble bursts and you are out of high school, you might focus about where you're going to go to college or perhaps where you're going to work. You are not worrying about if your current bf or gf is "the one" or if your job is the job of your dreams.
But then when you turn twenty-five, you realize you have to think about these things. After all, you're reaching adulthood, which can be quite scary (yikes). In the end, those crazy/daunting questions of "What do I really want to do with my life? And is it too late to do it?" are merely concerns of the unknown. It’s never too late to switch careers, or majors or whatever it is that you want to do. My dad always told me "If you find something that you are passionate about in life and do it as your career, you won't think of it as a job and you will be the very best at it."
So for everyone who is going through, or will be going through some sort of quarter-life crisis (or life crisis itself) chaos, my advice is to do a few things: think back on your life and think of the one thing you've always wanted to do in life, something that you are passionate about. And then go and do it. I know it sounds easier said than done, but keeping a positive mentality will allow you to do it. It also helps if you surround yourself with people who support you. Do what you love, do the thing that deep down you've always wanted to do. If you hate your job, find one you love. If you’re in a relationship that makes you feel like you’re settling, then don't be in it. If you want to travel, then travel! And remember that a positive mentality is the key to success. If you think you can do it, you can.
After all, you only live once. :0)
