Quarter Life Crisis

Okay okay. there's one thing i really need to get off my chest. it's all this discussion about the quarter life crisis. I didn't hear about it until I spoke to a friend and when he told me what a quarter life crisis was, honestly, i gave a sigh of relief. finally a term that articulated the changes and confusion i am going through. Yes, I believe I am having a quarter life crisis. For some of you who have no idea what I am talking about essentially a quarter life crisis is basically like a mid-life crisis except well like the term said it happens in your quarter life or in your twenties. For me I can definitely say I am experiencing a quarter life crisis. I mean i packed up my life as I know it and came back to Malawi. It's a scary thing but also something exciting. I just felt I want to have meaning in my life and in my job. I really wanted to be involved in contributing to society in a positive way. And currently in the work I am engaging in in Malawi, I can say I am doing just that. Yes, I may be dealing with a bunch of challenges that if I stayed in Canada I wouldn't have had to deal with but I am also enjoying this new path I've taken...one of uncertainty and discovery. I'll take my experience for what it's worth. A chance to learn about myself and life. It's only a quarter-life crisis. The good thing about this terminology is that eventually it will end and I will be a better person for having experienced it.


Here's some characteristics typical of a quarter life crisis that i pulled off of wikipedia:

* feeling "not good enough" because one can't find a job that is at one's academic/intellectual level
* frustration with relationships, the working world, and finding a suitable job or career
* confusion of identity
* insecurity regarding the near future
* insecurity concerning long-term plans, life goals
* insecurity regarding present accomplishments
* re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
* disappointment with one's job
* nostalgia for university, college, high school or elementary school life
* tendency to hold stronger opinions
* boredom with social interactions
* loss of closeness to high school and college friends
* financially-rooted stress (overwhelming college loans, unanticipatedly high cost of living, etc.)
* loneliness
* desire to have children
* a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you