Spontaneous Living
I made pizza today.
Okay, so it was the type with ready-made dough, but still! Fantastic. Sometimes you just need to grab a friend and try something new.
Living life these past few years have convinced me that there is such a thing as Quarterlife, in particular the concept of a Quarterlife Crisis. You can Google the phrase if you’ve never heard of it. It’s the stage, typically around when you hit 25 when you suddenly have constant anxieties and doubts about the way you are living your life. It can be a stressful junction because you feel the decisions you make now will shape your future.
I guess some aspect of this is true. Around this age, we tend to decide on big moments like first real career choices, moving out of your parents house, getting married, having kids, buying a house, a car, etc. Some of us have very strong head on our shoulders and have prepared well to make these big decisions. Others are always wondering why they haven’t accomplished more with their life by now. It can be a roller coaster of emotions.
If you’re deeply thinking about whether or not you are experiencing Quarterlife Crisis – then you are. For simply thinking about it.
Spontaneous living. That is going to be your light for the next few years. I’m not talking about going all out crazy like spending $1,000 on a few bottles at a nightclub. I’m not talking about making a hasty decision to move to France (unless you feel that’ll make you happy). Heck, even for being young, I feel too old and mature to go crazy for no particular reason. I’m talking about true normal spontaneous actions like making pizza.
When you’re making pizza or going to see a movie with a friend or having a few drinks to catch up with a co-worker or going on a run – you are living life. Quarterlife is difficult because as young adults, many of us have done everything we were supposed to do. Study hard. Go to college. Find a job. Meet someone special. Make your family proud. Whatever it might be, we were trying to follow a formula of living. Until we realize that formula cages us in. Kinda like when you used to play Snake on the very old cell phones. Eventually you reach a dead end and your game is over and start a new game. Your way out is to stop thinking there is only one formula that works.
I feel I’m a logical person. I was mature for my age and often felt I grew up a bit faster than my peers. But in being a logical person, I ended up thinking about life more than I did living life. I must have spent more time wondering what my life would be like rather than enjoying the life I already had. Life on pause. I did everything I thought I was supposed to do. Go to college. Met someone special. Got my first real job. Got some promotions. Lived life a little bit by traveling. But I knew something was wrong. With me. I was living it too easy. Life is supposed to be hard. You should be ready to make some tough choices. If you don’t fight for something, is it really worth having?
I was really happy seeing my friends hit some huge milestones. Just this past weekend, a close friend of mine gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. This past year I watch two of my closest buddies get married and many more of my friends are engaged. It’s surreal. Magical. I realized the reason I wasn’t ready for milestones of my own was because up until now, I wasn’t ready to color outside the lines.
I moved out of my parents house. I got a new job. I paid off my student loans. I’m ready to live my life now. A compromise. I did everything I felt I was supposed to do. Now it’s my time to do everything I feel I can. You need to live your life instead of only thinking about it. You need to live a little bit out of your norm. And most of all, you need to grab a friend to experience it with you. Life is meant to be shared with others. Go bake some cookies. Go fly a kite.
Today, I made a pizza. Tomorrow… well that’s the beauty of spontaneous living.
