20 something angst

Apologies for not blogging in so long, working 9-4 and then catering at nights plus hitting the gym is keeping me pretty darn busy at the mo. But do not worry, I always return :)

So I'm helping a friend out with her 4th year uni project. She's a graphic design student and is re-designing a book called "20 Something, 20 Everything" by Christine Hassler. She asked me to re-write the content which I have gladly agreed to do. So far I've only re-written the introduction (which is rather lengthy) but gosh this book is relatable! It's actually quite ridiculous. Basically, the book's about the common belief amongst women in their 20s that everything must be achieved in this decade of their lives: successful grounding in a career, deciding where to live, whether you want to settle down and who with, whether you want kids or not etc etc. It's described in the book as a "quarter-life crisis" and is very common when you finish your education and being to experience feelings of anxiety around these issues.

Having recently graduated, I feel as though I can completely relate to what's raised in the book. Though I do have a job now, it's not what I want to be doing for the rest of my life, nor where I want to be living for too much longer. I'm single, while a lot of my friends have steady, serious boyfriends. I do want kids at some point but I also want to be a career woman. Because fertility drops significantly when you reach 30, I pretty much have to meet my potential husband now (considering dating them, marriage, enjoying married life sans kids etc). ARGH!

"With thoughts such as these going through most twenty-somethings' minds, clearly we need to discuss and be conscious of what happens in our twenties - and we need some guidance on how to deal with it all. Our twenties are a turning point in our lives when we feel the pressure to do, well, everything. As the security blankets of college and parents are peeled away, we are faced with finishing jobs, building careers, perhaps moving to new cities, separating from our old support systems, taking care of our own finances, dating, marriage, thinking about children, starting families making our first large investments, creating new social lives, watching our parents age, and shaping an identity to last the rest of our adulthood. Whew! That is more responsibility that we've ever been faced with."

And it's funny cause we're never really warned about all this pressure that will come after you finish your education. I find this book really interesting thus far, and am intrigued to see how it deals with getting past a "quarter-life crisis". Can you relate?
 xx