I confess that I am too worn out tonight to write a "real" post, so I am copping out with a "confession" post. It requires a little less concentration, a lot less wit, and just a look into my soul.
I was talking to a good friend today who came to visit for the first time in quite a while, and although we're both in very different places in our lives (I'm a married working mom, she's a single medical student), we confessed to each other how confused and scared we both were about the direction our lives were headed. I confess, this is a conversation I've had with a lot of my friends lately, both in real life and here in blogworld. This week at work, I read about a study that suggested babies born today should easily live into their 100s. That got me thinking: with all these 20-somethings feeling so lost, could there be such a thing as a quarter-life crisis?
I know, I know, usually we hear about the mid-life crisis. The 39-year-old man who leaves his wife for his kids' 22-year-old nanny, or the 40-something woman who suddenly quits her job and buys a convertible. But everywhere I look around me, it seems like more and more people in their 20s are severely examining the decisions they've made-- and not liking what they see.
I think I'm a perfect example here. After my series of posts on "home" last week, I've had many friends-- some of whom I didn't even know read my blog-- ask me if a move was in our imminent future. No, it's not, but it's on my mind a lot. It's not that I'm unhappy-- and I do think, at least for me, crisis is too strong of a word. I just am so curious about what else is out there, and I confess, there are times when I think I'm selling myself short.
Tonight, I'm asking God for patience, and I'm also asking Him for peace-of-mind. God, give me the ability to trust in You, and to trust more in myself, as well. Help me listen to my friends and be the type of person who can help them navigate whatever problems cross their paths.
Do you have anything to confess? If so, feel free to share. And I'd love to hear your input on my "quarter-life crisis" theory. (Don't worry-- I just traded in my little red sports car for a dependable SUV... and I'm not going back!)
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In the last year I've asked myself so many times "is this job, this city really what I want?". It is a valid question since my husband will be defending soon and will have to get a post-doc job... here or anywhere else.
I have SO many interests other than science, I'd so like to elaborate on them. I think this is the perfect time of our lives to contemplate new options. Granted, most of us have just gotten to where we had been planning to go.
The older I get, the more I realize, I like doing different things and that there is no "end" in sight, just a casual jog from here to there. As long as I am happy now.... and as long as the bills are paid and there is a retirement account. Funny how those things bind....
Rachelle, you completely got where I was going with this... you are *so* right, the things that were once our "dreams" now feel binding. I think I should add "flexibility" to my prayer!
I believe in an "anytime" life crisis...I don't think is is age-specific really. I think at any point in one's life they can reevaluate things and change what they really want out of life.