29 – The Quarter Life Crisis

Once I started thinking about running away and giving myself time to re-evaluate, I started researching about others who felt like I did. Anyone who knows me, knows I can research and analysis the crap out of anything! This must be why I never actually get anything productive done and work 65 hours a week….

Well let me tell you, nothing gets you more pumped up to travel than reading one of those “Why you should quit your job and travel tomorrow” articles.

Seriously, I was hooked.

I then stumbled on an article about turning 30. Well, jackpot! This one was written for me.

It spoke about the Quarter-Life crisis. An apparently very real condition for 29 year olds involving a life audit for meaningfulness and life satisfaction. Supposedly, many major life changing decisions are made at age 29.

Well, perfect – I was right on track!

So looking back, here’s my deal:

I have had a pretty good go over the last 10 years. I worked hard (all 10 years in school), I partied hard (countless music festivals, vacations, concerts, river parties, beach parties, house parties, you name it), I had done a significant amount of travelling (Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, and all of Western Europe), I had lived in Calgary and moved to Kelowna. Hell, I even won the 50/50 at the Calgary Stampede for $15,000. Not to mention, graduated, started a career, and bought and renovated my first house.

Frankly, reading that makes me jealous of myself.

While I should be toasting myself with a glass of champagne at the thought of turning 30, I am panicking. Because here is the truth – I am not ready to just sit down and start real life. Mostly because I have no one to start a life with, and frankly, limited prospects. Single 30 year old women with no kids – we are literally a dying breed!

And while we may have embraced our circumstances, others start to panic that we may be the last one standing prior to extinction.

One day, I was at a baby shower and ran into the parent of someone I went to Elementary School with. We chatted for a bit and then finally she asked if I had any kids. No, I replied. Are you married? No, I replied. Then she shook her head sadly and said, “Well, you must be the last one”?

For the record, I am not the LAST one. There is Pam – technically, we are the last two.

Society is telling us to panic.

I have decided not to panic. I have decided to just get that much more awesome! Damn rights, I am going to leave my job and travel the world. Whose jealous of who, now?

And I would like to tell my future husband that he is welcome for giving him all of this extra time to himself.

I am a lot to handle – he should be appreciating the break.