It came as a bit of a shock to me, but I have recently found out that I'm going through my quarterlife crisis. I didn't know it at first, but I am.
For some time I've felt rather unsettled in my professional life, not really knowing what I want to do career wise, having no goal or aim to strive for, worrying about money and how much I think I should be earning, and after eight months or so of having this neverending feeling of uncertaintiy as to what direction my life might be going in, I can catagorically say that I've had e-fucking-nough.
Having spoken to friends and peers it quickly became apparent that I wasn't the only 20 something to be going through this. It turns out that since being spat out of university and entering the big scary world of work, taxes and never ending bills, that quite a few of us have become bored, fed up and confused as to where exactly our lives are heading as we methodically go through our daily routines of getting up with a scowl on our faces, going to an unsatisfying job, and then returning home for dinner, TV and compulsory bitching about how bad our day was. Monotonous pretty much sums it up.
Not knowing why I felt like this when I should be excited that I've metaphorically got the world at my feet, only added to my frustration, but thankfully The Guardian has come to the rescue! I should have known from the start that this paper for wannabe yuppies like myself, was going to hold the answer to my career angst, and a wave of relief washed over me when I was able to self-diagnose that I was in fact going through phase two of my quarterlife crisis. Phase one is the feeling of being "trapped" in a job you feel you can't get out of. If you know me, then you'll know that I can definitely tick that box.
Phase two is a bit more severe though. This is basically when you're at breaking point where the temptation to turn round to your boss and shout "GO FUCK YOURSELF, YOU BIG....BLOody, erm, something!" before resorting to childish tactics of simply sticking your tounge out at them and skipping away while giggling manically and shouting "I'M FREE!" until the reality of what you've just done dawns on you and you have no other choice but to ring your parents hoping for a bit of TLC, whimpering, and trying to explain to them that at the age of mid 20 something and after thousands of pounds worth of education you still have no fucking idea what you want to do with your life. So demoralising.
So this is basically where I'm at, apart from, of course, I've not and would not tell my boss where to get off. And the phone call to the parents didn't provide any much needed sympathy as my Dad saw fit to make it clear to me that yes my life is in turmoil but I better man up and get on with it because sometimes life is simply unpredictable and you have to ride the years of confusion and uncertainty before you can really get to where you want to be.
So thank you Dad for highlighting the fact that I've possibly got years ahead of struggling uphappy years of work ahead of me with maybe the outcome of a happy ending, and thank you Guardian, for giving my so far angst ridden young career-life a diagnosis. It's not my intention to dwell on my lack of direction and money worries too much throughout this blog and part of the reason for me getting my arse into gear and doing this is so I've got some sort of escapism and giving myself a way of looking forward, but I guess it's always good to give the readers a bit of background.
Till tomorrow...
RoseC -x-
If you, or someone you know has been affected by this post and think you're experiencing similar symptoms of quarterlife crisis, then you can read the full article here. Enjoy! http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/may/05/quarterlife-crisis-young-insecure-depressed
I think part of the cause for this crisis is that we are brought up to believe that we can be anything that we want to be, rather than being brought up to understand one very clear truth... Working fucking sucks. It's a sad but true fact that the vast majority of people in life will never find that job that fulfills them in the way they thought, or hoped, it would.
ReplyDeleteI think part of this feeling can also be attributed to the recession as well. With rent prices through the roof, more expensive food, and higher VAT rates people have less money and so it seems that work is consuming their life as they have to get back on leisure activities.
I guess your Dad is right. Life isn't a Disney movie (although it would be awesome if it were) and sometimes we all have to bite the bit to get through yet another crappy or demoralising work day...