Midlife Crisis

Although I learnt in my psychology class that there is 'no such thing' as a midlife crisis, I still feel there are many sets of mini crises that hit you along the road of life.

I know...who am I to be talking? I’m young.

But that doesn’t mean that I haven’t made tough decisions, fought through emotional turmoil, and hell, I survived the teenage years. It’s just dawning on me that life likes to hit you with some crisis every once in a while, keeping us all on our toes.

Most of my friends are highly educated and, like me, still lost. Many are fighting to find a job that doesn’t consist of selling coffee, or ‘add on sales’, and I’m in the search with them. It reminds me of being on an excavation – you sift through layers of crap and every once in a while find a gem. You hold the gem, analyze the gem, and sit there in reverence. Who did it belong to? What was it used for? How could I be the one to study it? And then someone comes along and takes the gem away, and you continue sifting.

Job searching is similar: you sift through the many placements that you either 1. Don’t qualify for, 2. Don’t fit your schedule, 3. Are not within your interests, and occasionally find a posting for a job that you can see yourself doing, and potentially enjoying. You hold onto that figurative gem, studying it, analyzing it. Who will get this job? What will they be doing? What is the office like? How could I be that lucky person? And after a couple of months, that position is filled, and the search continues.

Don’t get me wrong – I am very content right now. I have signed up for a Professional Dog Training course and my High School science and math credits. I feel like life is moving forward at a terrifying pace. I am scared of the high standards they hold to pass the dog training course, as well as my inability to do science and math, but I know if I work hard, I will get through it. Still, I am watching my friends search, and I am tired of getting snide remarks from people who don’t understand that ‘just getting a job’ isn’t as easy as it sounds. We are too qualified for retail, but under qualified for the government. Recessions hurt. Especially for young graduates. So please take a moment to think about that judgement you are making and remember the qualities of the person you are judging. In all likelihood, they are trying, and frustrated, and just need your support. It is anything but lazyness.

So I’ve resigned myself to the idea of going back to school. It’s going to be an interesting ride, and an intense competition and I look forward to it.

So take that life. I have jumped that hurdle, avoided the bullet, and crawled my way under your mini crisis! Your move.