Hardly a Quarter Life Crisis

As my 23rd year of life slowly stalks me and threatens to swallow me up in about two short weeks, I'm beginning to really think about what the heck I'm doing with myself. Is it nostalgia? Sleep deprivation? Or perhaps it's the insane pressure our culture puts on us at a young and naive age to choose what we're going to do with ourselves that pushes me to the brink of insanity as I write this post.
I look at myself now as I sit in my office with my steaming cup of coffee, pumpkin buttercream candle flickering, and fat stack of textbooks on hand and wonder if every 22-almost-23-year-old is feeling this same way. It's an age where I feel like I've had my fun and now that I am almost a college graduate (just 114 days!!) and have been out of my parents house for almost 5 years, that I need to start my career, get married, have babies, etc etc. This is where I'm just plain confused because I feel stuck in a rut. Or maybe it's more of a limbo between feeling like I should be doing something more, but not being able to because I'm still in school and only working part time. But wait! Isn't this a time that I'm supposed to go travel the world and be free and not have anything holding me down?! What have I been doing renting homes, raising a dog, maintaining a healthy relationship, and planning for my future these past five years?! Everyone tells me that this is my time to be "selfish" so am I supposed to throw this all away? Will I regret the decisions I am making right now when I look back on my twenties in 50 years? Questions with no answers. It's all a matter of perspective and opinion. Our perception is our reality and we accept the life we think we deserve, but we also create the life we think we deserve.
2015 has been the most challenging year I have gone through so far, but I have very high hopes for it and big plans that need to be set in place. It's only February and much to soon to write off an entire year. I hope that no one forgets that your life is what you make it. Hard times may be happening, but this too shall pass.

Blessings & Love