Most of us experience quarter life crisis at some point. Maybe some of you guys aren’t completely sure what I mean by quarter life crisis. Let me explain. Quarter life crisis is that period of your life (usually about a year or two after you graduate from college) when you’ve been doing the whole 9-5 thing for about a year or two, and you absolutely hate it. You hate how it feels like a prison. You hate how you feel like you’re not young anymore (because your back hurts from sitting at a computer desk all day). You hate the fact that you watch shows like “The Office” and you can relate to almost everything the movie consists of. Finally, you hate the fact that you can’t stay up later than 12:00 anymore, and you have to wake up every morning at the butt-crack of dawn. FYL (not mine cause I own a tutoring center that starts late so I get to sleep in everyday!). Mid-twenties-and-my-life-sucks-syndrome is essentially quarter life crisis.
But honestly, it doesn’t have to be all bad! There are so many awesome things and experiences that you can have during this time to give yourself an emotional boost! This is one of those rare life moments where you can literally do whatever you want (almost anything) and get away with it because…hey, it’s quarter life crisis baby! With that being said, here are some basic quarter life crisis do’s and don’ts.
DO try surfing! Surfing is one of the most stress relieving, quarter life fulfilling activities you can ever do! It’s amazing! You will thoroughly enjoy it, because it will give you the thrills and sensations that your desk job simply does not afford you! For those of you who do not live close to a beach…sucks to be you!
DO exercise! Many people who are going through quarter life get a new inspiration to exercise like they’ve never experienced before. When I hit quarter life crisis, I went on this crazy exercise spree where I literally did everything and anything I could!
DO join some martial arts class! Not only do you learn how to kick people’s ass (I highly recommend taking Ju-Jit-Su), but it fulfills the exercise quota that you start developing around this time. There’s nothing like a bunch of sweaty guys or girls in a room together, relieving stress and anxiety from a long day’s work. Who knows, maybe you’ll even meet a super hot martial arts guy or girl this way!
DO go out and meet new people! Most of the times, for people who just graduated, most of their friends are back home, or something similar. Besides your work friends, you probably don’t know that many people that you hang out with on a consistent basis anymore. So go make some new friends! Join a club! Go clubbing! Find a local bar you consistently frequent! Put yourself out there, and meet new people. Who cares, you only live once.
DO plan a trip somewhere fun, like Las Vegas! This is the time to do it! Go lose all that hard earned money at the tables and justify it because you got a ton of free drinks! Shots of patron are on the house at Vegas, it’s the place to be!
DON’T get a large dragon tattooed from the top of your neck to the bottom of your feet. Yes, getting some meaningful tattoo is definitely worthwhile, but if you get a ridiculous one that wraps around your entire body…I think you’re going to regret it!
DON’T quit your job as an engineer and join a rock band. As Mike wrote in his previous post, unless you’re DAMN good at what you do (and by good, I mean someone other than your mom really supports you in your endeavor), treat hobbies as what they are: HOBBIES!
DON’T join the internet dating circle quite yet. Wait till your thirties and still single! That’s when internet dating really becomes a necessity. Okay, actually, if you want to do internet dating, go for it! In retrospect, I’m not against this at all!
DON’T play World of Warcraft. If you want any semblance of a social life, you should NOT fall into the mistake of playing World of Warcraft. That game is a time sucking MACHINE that will destroy your life. Haven’t you seen the video?
DON’T join a cult. Because then you may become a human sacrifice on 2012! DUH!
These are my Quarter Life Crisis guidelines. What do you guys think would be some amazing quarter life crisis activities twenty-four to twenty-nine year olds can engage in to spice up their boring lives a little? Please do share! I need more ideas, I’m running out!
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Going through a quarter life crisis or the saturn return (whatever you want to call it) is certainly not easy. During this period I second guessed myself and my ego took quite a beating. I also did many of your suggestions including running early in the morning to clear my head, working the social circuit, getting a meaningful tattoo, traveling, etc. Sometimes it helped and sometimes it just felt like papering holes on a sinking ship.
So far, one of the most important things I’ve learned is that I need to be kinder to myself. I’m using this period of my life to focus on the process rather than the outcome. For me this involves:
- Figuring out what I value
- Reassessing my list of priorities
- Learning how to be a better listener
- Acting deliberately and intentionally
I’ve still got “miles to go before I sleep”. If you can think of a better conduit for personal change, I’m all ears.
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DO go biking! It’s great exercise, you get to wear formfitting clothes and get noticed by all of the well-mannered motorists of Los Angeles! And there’s nothing like putting your life on the line to teach you to value life and get through your funk!
DO find a significant other. LOL. For us at least.
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yup. vegas.
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I believe that if you are having a quarter-life crisis you should do something that has meaning. For instance, what if you ran a marathon and raised money for cancer research? Or met new people at a homeless shelter you could volunteer at on weekends? A lot of the time you can find something meaningful to do that is also fun and exciting at the same time.
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I never knew there was a thing called quarter life crisis until I landed on this blog. Yeah, I feel the same way too. You got it right when enumerating the ‘symptoms’. Doing things that I’ve loathed since forever is the best point you’ve made for me.
Patricia is absolutely right about focusing on the process although it’s unbeatably painful, indeed.
Myles Hamby proposed such a great idea to spend our time for something worthwhile…
As for me, I think so far writing a blog can channel my passion and negative emotions like anger, disappointment and …many others (sigh)…
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I’m just curious why so many people seem to think that all of the world works 9-5 desk jobs. I’m a freelance stagehand who has never worked a desk job and didn’t graduate at 22, in fact I started film school at that age. But I can still totally relate to the quarter-life crisis, and I came upon this blog because I looked up the term. Mine hit right about the time I turned 25, despite the fact that I was still in school. The message I’m trying to convey is that there’s much more going on with the quarter life crisis than being bored with one’s job, or being out of school. Also, reading constant references to desk jobs can actually feel pretty alienating to those of us who keep odd and unpredictable hours nowhere near a desk.
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Michael John Liu Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 11:06 am
That’s understandable, Audrey! I personally don’t work a typical 9-5 desk job at the moment but things can still feel cyclical after a while. We’re just encouraging you to try something new to have a nice change of pace!
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at this aimless point of my life, i’m also realizing how important it is to maintain close family and friend relationships because those who love me & know me keep my sane. my habit is to shove everyone away from me when i feel like i’m a failure or that i’m going nowhere, but then i’m always pleasantly surprised by how someone’s encouragement is the very thing that would motivate me through this all.
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