Graduation means welcome to your 'quarterlife crisis'

By Brigit Farfel

May 5, 2005 | When I was 5 years old I wanted nothing more out of life than to be a mountain climber. When I was 12 I was absolutely sure I would be a lawyer. By 18 I was headed to college with dreams of becoming the next Barbara Walters. Oh to be young and know it all.

Now at 22 I find myself all too often wondering what I want to be when I grow up. I am counting the days to graduation while my head is filled with a dozen different questions and uncertainties. Did I chose the wrong major, should I go to grad school, do I want a career or family, and most importantly am I the only one who feels so confused?

After months of feeling alienated by my concerns I came to realize I am not alone. I am just having a Quarterlife Crisis.

A Quarterlife Crisis is a stage experienced after adolescence and before midlife. This life crisis can occur any time during a person's 20s, but graduation from college is often the catalyst. People experiencing a Quarterlife Crisis feel anxiety about the future and find themselves questioning their present accomplishments. They may be having second thoughts about the major they chose or job they took after college.

In 2001, Alexandra Robbins and Abby Wilner published "Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties." The best-selling book brought the idea of a Quarterlife Crisis into the limelight. The popularity of the book lead to the development of the Quarterlifecrisis.com website. Wilner, who co-authored the book, developed the Website which now has about 10,000 registered users.

The site hosts a QLC message board that provides a place for people in their 20s to come together, chat, complain, give advice, receive advice and share their own Quarterlife Crisis stories. Posts to the site reflect users growing anxiety about not finding jobs, being stuck in jobs that are going nowhere and stress over trying to decide whether or not to go back to school.

People in their 20s are experiencing many life changes; graduating from college, entering the workforce and struggling with decisions about the future. All of these changes can lead to feelings of anxiety and self doubt.

For a person in their 20s the majority of life has been spent in school. Graduating from college means leaving behind a life they have grown very accustomed to and embarking on a journey into unfamiliar territory. For many it is the first time that there is not an obvious next step. The question after college is, now what?

One of the greatest contributing factors to a Quarterlife Crisis is the abundance of options today's 20-somethings face. There was a time when there were less job options and fewer paths to chose from; now it is increasingly difficult for graduates to make a decision. Endless opportunities may sound appealing,but for young Americans so many choices can be more daunting than promising.

When compared with the workforce college life is protective and comforting. Students have spent their lives learning how to thrive within the school system, but the workforce is a whole new ballgame with different rules and different players. Professors are replaced with bosses and grades by salaries. There is no excuse for late work and forget about having holidays off.

This May Jessica Clugston will graduate from Utah State University (USU). She is uncertain about where she will go and what she will do after college. She would like to work in advertising , but she does not know if she is qualified. "I would rather stay in school it's fun, we hang out, we work, we go to class and we meet people."

While many 20 somethings struggle with adjusting to life in the workforce still others struggle to find a job. College enrollment numbers are increasing and this leads to a more competitive workforce. A bachelor's degree is not worth what it once was and recent grads find themselves struggling to start a career in the field in which they studied.

Kristy Henderson is a graduate of USU but is having difficulty finding the right job. " I love doing what I majored in, but if I had known how hard it would be to find a job I would have chosen a different major," she says.

People in their 20s are often unhappy in their current jobs. Young professionals who are concerned with paying off college loans are quick to jump at the first job they are offered even if it is not the job they want.

According to the American Council for Education 60 percent of students who graduate from a four year public college borrow money. The median amount of money they borrow exceeds $15,000. Both the percentage and amount borrowed increase with higher degrees and at private institutions.

When USU student Scott Flemming graduates he will have a large number of student loans to pay off. He jokes that after he starts paying them off next year it should only take him until the year 2030 to pay them off.

Despite Flemming's sense of humor about the situation financial worries are a huge part of Quarterlife Crisis anxiety. Students today graduate with heavier financial burden than past generations and with no promise that it will all be worth it.

Websites, peers and numerous articles offer ideas on how to cope with a Quarterlife Crisis. It is important for people in their 20s to take the time to figure out what they want and what their passions are. Robbins suggests that 20-somethings ask themselves what they would do for the rest of their lives if they just won the lottery. Finding what their passions are can help them in dicovering a path they will be happy with.

As I struggle with the difficulties of my own Quarterlife crisis I take heart in knowing I am not alone. When I am feeling extremely lost and confused I have to remind myself that I am still young, I have time to make mistakes and learn from them. With all its confusion and doubt being in your 20s is still a great time of freedom and excitement. Do not spend too much time dwelling on your Quarterlife Crisis, because all too soon life will pass you by and you will wake up in the middle of a whole new crisis, midlife!

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