With every intention of saving the world and none whatsoever of eavesdropping on the neighboring table’s tales, it was per chance that the conversation was simply overheard. [break] Graduating seniors, fearful of the slowly inching D-day –that would be graduation, silly – mumbled and agonized over having spent the last four years’ tireless laboring away for Teaching Assistants, Adjuncts and Professors in order to earn their Physics, English and Philosophy degrees all to little avail. They admitted they had hit the fateful “Quarter-Life Crisis” – they didn’t know what to do with their lives even before their lives officially began.
Convinced the fancy Bachelor of Art would be the final touch of my grand armor guaranteed to eradicate poverty, end the modern-day slave trade and save the environment, to name a few, the freshman soul of mine, lest the fact need be recalled, could only scoff at such a silly syndrome. And, yet, just as taxes, death, and Paul the Octopus are the only three things certain in life, it seems the Quarter-Life Crisis too has now come to collect its dues.
How the term was coined is telling enough about what it is in essence. According to www.quarterlifecrisis.com , Abby Wilner, coauthor of Quarterlife Crisis and Quarterlifer’s Companion, introduced the phrase back when most of us 20-somethings were busy making paper-hearts in 7th grade while imagining the superstars and success stories we would be when we grew up. In other words, back when it was 1997, when Wilner graduated from college, moved back to her parents’ house and could not figure out what to do with her life.
Of course, Quarter-Life Crisis cannot be decoded or diagnosed without having disclosed the nature of its closely related phantom uncle, Mr. Mid-Life Crisis. Mid-Life Crisis tends to hit the 40 or 50-somethings, men and women who have advanced degrees tucked in one pocket, a family in the other, and a career of some sort in the back pocket.
The doctor, after having practiced for twenty-odd years, yearns for change in his life and switches to teaching. The lawyer, tired of lugging around the scale of justice, exits her firm and decides to write a book on gardening. The technician says goodbye to her students and joins a rock band. When the mid-life crisis hits, the “grown-ups” decide to U-turn their life, without inviting much financial or social drama. There is little concern, they have a handsome savings in the bank, the children have just begun to earn their own pocket money, and the spouse is only too happy to have more quality time. It’s just a matter of closing one chapter and opening the other.
But, this Quarter-Life Crisis thing, well, you’ve really got to pity the poor souls. Although, it is similar to the Mid-Life Crisis – a period of “anxiety, uncertainty and inner turmoil that accompanies the transition to adulthood” – the background, and hence, the consequences differ. Namely, that the anxiety induced at the Quarter-Life Crisis is devoid of advanced degrees, a family or a career to speak of. As mentioned above, it leaves the victim frantic and simultaneously clueless as to what to do with their lives even before having begun living. A tragic tale, I tell you. And, yet it has hit the masses. And, has it hit hard.
In a world complete with fierce competition and way too many options, where finding meaningful work for the over-inflated egos with their unrealistically groomed notion of life-after-college routinely is evident of the fact that life is indeed not so beautiful, at least half the time.
Quarter-Life Crisis settles with the dust and it is a bit like being out of breath before the chase even begins, something like crying before the soppy movie even starts, and not too different to fretting over final week before the semester commences. Are you beginning to see a pattern? It’s about stressing before anything even begins! And, it all starts off, usually they say, at your college graduation. And, the liberal arts students are especially at risk.
While every adolescent is susceptible to catching the crisis, the Quarter-Life Crisis is much more prone to the privileged middle class who have been devoted much too much attention, praised all too often and consequently delivered nothing. Just fluff. Just talk. Ask them a question, and the answer, nay, the opinions, both founded and unfounded, flow abundantly. The liberal arts degree has taught them to find a way to disagree and critique anything and everything. It has also instituted the silly notion of “believing” in themselves and doing something “meaningful” with their lives.
Your Pre-Med buddies are preparing for med-schools. Your buddy over at vocational school is rolling up his electrician certificate and ready to fix your socket. And, your friend from the +2 days who attended Shanaaz Beauty School is happily plucking eyebrows. Graduating was nothing but a step to doing what they were learning.
The liberal arts students, as mentioned above, are doomed. Yes, the BA in “International Affairs” only means no one cares about their take on US-China trade relations after senior seminar, that “Philosophy” students, though well-versed in Plato, will soon be serving coffee at the college café, and the “English” majors will be writing articles no one would be reading.
This is a somewhat inevitable but odd case, and very little is known regarding treatment. Randall S. Hansen, over at www.quintcareers.com, has some recommendations. One, “develop realistic expectations.” Two, “take time to discover your passions.” Three, “set goals and visualize your future.” Four, “consider changing careers.” And, five, “cultivate a positive meaning/definition of success.”
Not helpful? Well, Godspeed, old friend, Mid-Life Crisis is yet to follow.
Related story
The Internet versus democracy
