quarter century talk

25!!

It doesn't feel any different than 24, but it sure does sound different!

Today is my half birthday, I've been 25 for six months. Back in April I talked about going through the oh so silly yet oh so real and common quarter life crisis, and it's only been heightened since the slew of weddings we've recently been to.

Do you ever think about where you thought you'd be at your age now, when you were younger?

When I was 14 I was sure that I'd be having kids when I was 26, and now that just seems like the most ridiculous timeline I've ever heard. It's funny to think about the expectations and deadlines you set up for yourself when you were younger and had no real life experience. With every t.v. show and movie you see, every "milestone" year seems like it should be a big life changing moment.  Like when I was 8 and watching Clueless over and over again , Cher is supposed to be 16! It made 16 seem so old and mature, like everyone was completely independent. Then I turned 16 and I was still a kid, nothing really changed. 

And now at 25, an age that always sounded so adult, I still feel like a kid, I mean I definitely don't feel like a grown-up yet (for example I still call adults "grown-ups"). I'm not ready for weddings and babies and buying houses, I'm still trying to balance what will make me happy and what will pay my loans off. Some people get there quicker but I feel like for most of us, those deadlines are unrealistic. I'm at the age now where many of my friends are getting married, everyone is telling me, "oh, just you wait a couple years when all your friends are having children, that's the real kicker." We can't even afford the time and money it takes to own a dog, let alone do all that marriage/house buying/baby stuff!!

I feel like everyone goes through these stressful "crisis" periods because we are given so many expectations to live up to. And I know that a lot of them we put on ourselves but it's hard to let go of what 14 year old Aly thought was reasonable and right.

I want to do all those things, but dagnabbit, I'll do them when I'm good and ready!