I am in the middle of a quarter-life crisis, as I’m sure many of those who are my age or older are as well. Though I’m not at quarter life (or maybe I am) at 19 years old, the crisis is as real as ever as I sit in my parents' basement contemplating life and what I want to pursue. I have almost 80 years left, and I’m asked to make decisions now, while my brain is still underdeveloped and probably under the influence of our peers, our parents and even alcohol. Sorry world, but it’s the truth.
It’s not even just school that gives us students anxiety; it’s relationships — romantic or otherwise, internships, classes, money, etc, the list goes on and on. There is something terrifying about sitting on your parents' couch during summer break that makes you think about everything. Everything you might’ve done wrong or right up until now is suddenly placed under a microscope by no one other than ourselves. And who is your biggest critic? Yourself.
There is something beautiful about analyzing what you’ve been through in life. We’re the only species that can do this, as we are the only species that can think about thoughts. How weird is that right? We can think about thoughts. As wonderful as it is, it’s very hard for us to wrap our heads around the concept, as we think about our thoughts regarding success, love, what we think we want, what we really want: it’s all a mess, a beautiful and complicated mess.
This quarter-life crisis is a pain in the butt. As a 19-year-old, I’m being asked to decide what profession I want, who I potentially want to marry one day and who I want to be. It seems very contradictory that adults are constantly telling us to enjoy childhood, and yet we are asked every day to pretend like we know what we’re doing as adults.
There needs to be less pressure put on those of us who are still young and figuring out our lives. I don’t know how we are supposed to be figuring out our lives when we still need to go to a counselor just to pick our classes for the semester. I barely even know where my classes are each semester, how am I supposed to figure out the rest of my life?
