It's Okay to Have a Quarter-Life Crisis!

I’m 22 and I feel like I’m 44.

I found an article on Buzzfeed called “10 signs you’re having a Quarter-life crisis,” I read through the list –

1. You’ve been daydreaming about doing something crazy.

Yes! All the time, at the moment I am looking up flights to Kuala Lumpur!

2. …but you feel paralyzed by indecision.

Yes! What do I do when I am there? How long do I go for? Is this just a whim?

3. You feel increasingly nostalgic for your high school and college days.

Not really…

4. The idea of making a budget terrifies you.

Yes! I don’t think I could manage to be completely independent from my parents.

5. You’re starting to think of your dating life differently.

I feel trapped … easily.

6. You have a sudden, intense fear of failure.

Constantly! My dissertation is just a no go right now: I just don’t know where to begin …

7. You’re bored with your friends.

Not bored with my friends, but bored in general.

8. You constantly compare yourself to your friends who are your age…

No, I constantly compare myself to my sisters friends who are 18 …

9. …or your parents when THEY were your age.

No!

10. You feel like your twenties aren’t turning out how you expected they would.

Yes! I thought I would be a lot more together!

Ok, so I am about an 8 out of 10!

People say that in your twenties you are supposed to be having the time of your life, that you have nothing to worry about or fear because you are young and free. I would love to meet a twenty-something that believes that their life is like this.

A UK study revealed that 86% of 1,100 twenty-somethings suffer from serious anxiety and stress: a fear that they are not doing enough with their life.

Being in your twenties today means starting the rest of your life, which is a lot of pressure! Twenty-somethings today are expected to: graduate with a good degree from a good university, get a good graduate job, date a nice person who will probably end up, if you’re lucky, being “the one”. This is clearly not my life nor that of many, if any, of the people that I know. Hence the quarter-life crisis!

I am 22 and I feel trapped.

I feel trapped being in the house. I feel trapped by my degree. I don’t feel like the world is my oyster, I feel like the world is very, very big and that I am very small.

Last summer, I watched most of my friends graduate from university with great envy, wishing that I was in their position, wishing that a portion of my life was, in a sense, complete. However, over the past year, I have realized that their lives have, if anything, become a lot harder. The “great” graduate jobs that were promised to them after getting that sought after degree either never materialized or disappeared altogether. Those who decided to move away to try their luck elsewhere, struggle to make ends meet. Through Facebook I have even seen some people that I went to school with walk down the aisle! The thought of being trapped into that kind of commitment right now makes me feel physically sick!

Some people would argue that this is all just part of growing up and the beginning of your adult life. I would suggest that the mounting pressure on young people to have their lives sorted in their twenties is causing great anxiety and the rise of depression and anxiety among twentysomethings.

So much is expected from young people nowadays that it’s no wonder that when we go crazy – we go insane! Going AWOL for a day or two has turned into a habit and your parents are starting to question if they even know who you are… does this mean you have hit rock bottom? I personally would not know: I still feel like I am hurdling through space at a hundred miles an hour.

However, if this is you, the one thing that makes all of the above ok? You are not the only one! I am 100% sure about that.

Nina is in her Honours year at The University of Strathclyde in Glasgow studying History. She loves keeping fit and healthy at the gym and singing to her hearts content. Because of Nina's love of all things history related, she has a passion for reading, writing and researching. Nina is the Editor-in-Chief for an online magazine for female students at Strathclyde called Her Campus Strath and wants to continue her passion for writing after graduation.